A Riot of Surprises
by Eternal Longing
Summary: After the Second Movie: The Sealed Card, life seems to hold no surprises. However, when magical entities are stirring up in Tomoeda, will Sakura's lack of experience be a problem? [SxS, ExT]
1. Prologue: Stirring From the Darkness

**Author's Note: **First Fanfiction... You know how it is. This is the second version of the story, the new and improved upgraded one, just to let you know. (The story isn't finished yet, just rewriting the beginning because I didn't like how it turned out.)

**Summary: **2 years after the second movie of Card Captor Sakura: The Sealed Card, life seems pretty normal, not including the training Keroberos forces Sakura to do over the summers and the fact that most of her allowance is spent on sending mail to Syaoran who is living all the way back in Hong Kong. However, when magical entities are stirring up inside and around Tomoeda, what will the crew do? Will they take an aggressive stance, run straight into trouble, or somehow figure out a way keep away from disaster?

**A Riot of Surprises**

**Prologue: Stirring From the Darkness**

_When the Shadows are restlessly stirring… _

_The Light flickers uncertainly in the grasp of an omen,_

_Unprepared are both the Day and the Night for the dangers that come,_

_For when the Nameless arrive, Seven will be hunted and Seven will be found, _

_The Wolf shall become the prey and the Cherry Blossom shall stray from safety,_

_When the Shadow meets the Light…_

_- Excerpt from the Prophecy of Stars, from the Sage of the Sun and the Moon

* * *

_

Tomoeda, a relatively peaceful city in Japan, flashed up onto a screen in far away London. The screen's light gave the dark room a slight blue glow as three children around the age of thirteen and fourteen sat on the floor, side by side, listening to the man standing next to the screen talk.

"As you well know, to most people who have eyed the city – whether for gain, profit, or just idle curiosity – the city is an ideal place to live in as it has a lot of free and open space. In fact, slightly crowded would be an overstatement in this case. The area there is relatively free of pollution, and the crime rate is extremely low; definitely a suitable place for people to live. Years ago, the city was given the opportunity to earn huge amounts of money by allowing more businesses to thrive and build in the free space there. To much surprise, the city and its residents declined and they have been living peacefully from then on."

There was a pause before the man continued, "However, approximately four years ago, certain events were brought to our notice." Tapping a button on the remote he carried, the man brought up the next slide. Five pictures were shown on this new slide; one in each corner and one in the middle.

The one at the top left corner showed a boy around ten years of age holding a magnificent sword with a golden hilt and a round, black, pearl-like gem inset in the middle. Another gem, with the same qualities, hung from the end, red string strung through it and ending in tassels. The boy in the picture himself had messy chocolate hair and serious, solemn amber eyes. In the dark room, the boy sitting on the left smiled to himself as whittled away on a wooden block; knife in one hand, block in the other.

"In the top left corner is Li Syaoran, current heir to the Li clan. Currently living in Hong Kong at age fourteen, he is an advanced martial artist and his weapon of choice is his blade. This picture was taken four years ago. As the Li clan is very protective of their deceased clan leader's heir, we have almost no recent knowledge on his non-academic achievements; but you'll be pleased to know that we do have some information on his personality and school life."

Moving on to the next picture at the top right of the screen, the man continued, "Who we have here is Hiiragizawa Eriol; the picture was also taken four years ago. Unlike the Li heir, we have more than enough information on him as he lives close by… and also because of the fact that he is who he is; or you could say, who he was. Graduated from the London University two years ago, he is said to enjoy a peaceful life with a female cousin and black cat. His Guardians, who we presume are the two mentioned just now, transform into two beings with butterfly-like wings: a female humanoid and a panther." The man turned to the only girl in the group and added, "If you want to know more, ask our current Clow expert and most loyal fan… or so you call yourself."

The picture mentioned showed another boy around the same age as the first smiling calmly, yet there was an underlying sense of mystery radiating from the intelligent sapphire eyes that stared out of the picture. One of the three children, a girl on the right ignored the last comment from the man and looked straight into the eyes of the boy and couldn't help but shiver – though the reason was lost deep in her closed off mind. She also noted short black hair and glasses before her eyes wandered elsewhere.

"Moving on now; the next two pictures on the bottom are the 'before and after' images of the Guardians of the Sun and the Moon; Keroberos and Yue, respectively. There isn't much to say about them except that they live in Tomoeda and maintain close relations to their Mistress."

The picture at the bottom left hand corner showed a youth around sixteen and a strange creature – strange to most people at least. What seemed to be a yellow plush toy with tiny beady eyes, large ears, and tiny white wings hovered in the air next to a tall, silver haired youth whose glasses did not obscure hazel eyes which were kind and gentle. Directly to its right, another picture showed two even stranger beings: a winged, lion-like beast and a tall angelic figure. The lion had a serious but kind face and yellow eyes. A red gem was inset on its forehead in the middle of a headpiece of sorts. With the same design, a chest plate adorned the lion's chest with another similar ruby gem inset in the middle of its chest. Magnificent wings completed its mythological look, as if it had come out of a storybook. Next to him stood the man with similar pure white wings, but the difference in the two was great. This being had icy blue eyes and if looks could kill, many would have already fallen victim to his intense stare. Also, his face was blank and stern, as if nothing could faze him, and his long silver hair seemed to flow behind him though it was braided and ended in tassels.

"And last but certainly not the least, is the famed Card Mistress herself, Kinomoto Sakura," the man said, pointing to the final picture.

Finally, the middle picture that attracted most of their attention showed a young girl around ten years of age holding a pink wand in her right hand and a strange pink card in her left. The wand was around the length of a sword and sported a yellow star in a pink circle at the top, and on both sides of the star were small white wings. A pair of depthless jet black eyes, from the room, looked over the girl holding the wand. Her auburn hair was blown away from her face in the picture revealing her emerald green eyes.

"The rest of our information will be sent to you, during the mission, via small laptops that we will provide. Remember, don't reveal your identities unless you must. The Council has spoken in concurrence with Heads. Do you know your orders, young Condemners?" The children nodded and the man added, "Any questions?"

"Only one," the final child in the middle said, "when do we leave?"

"Tonight," was the reply.

* * *

**Ending Note: **The rewritten version of the Prologue is finally complete. The whole thing is different from the original one, but it won't affect the overall story. I just cut short the prophecy and added more. 


	2. Chapter 1: A Start Towards the Future

**Author's Note: **Chapter one, version two is up! Hope you enjoy!

**Summary: **2 years after the second movie of Card Captor Sakura: The Sealed Card, life seems pretty normal, not including the training Keroberos forces Sakura to do over the summers and the fact that most of her allowance is spent on sending mail to Syaoran who is living all the way back in Hong Kong. However, when magical entities are stirring up inside and around Tomoeda, what will the crew do? Will they take an aggressive stance, run straight into trouble, or somehow figure out a way keep away from disaster?

**A Riot of Surprise**

**Chapter One: A Start Towards the Future**

_**(Flashback)**_

"Return to your true form… Clow Card!" The dark, circular barrier broke around the being which looked like a young girl with angelic wings.

_It seems I wasn't able to tell him my true feelings after all…_

"Card made by Clow, leave your own identity and be reborn... and come upon a new owner… in the name of Sakura!" The girl's form wavered and then turned into white mist, flying past the Card Mistress to form a black, slightly transparent barrier around the boy wearing green clothes on a nearby ledge.

"Syaoran-kun!" the girl clad in pink yelled, her emerald green eyes starting to water before she dashed off the glowing cards and onto the ledge.

"I'm glad I made it in time," the amber-eyed youth with messy, chocolate colored hair looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. "It seems a lot of my magical powers were still left… And of course, since you used so many cards in one day…"

"Syaoran-kun…" The girl whispered, the shadows hiding her brown, auburn colored hair under the pink hat.

"Even if I lose this feeling," the boy continued, "I'll… just fall in love with you again." As he finished, the black barrier finished its job and completely swallowed him up.

"Syaoran-kun!" the distressed girl yelled, not noticing the bright glow from a card, slipping out of her pocket, a card that showed a heart with two wings. Then, suddenly, the tower was enveloped in a blinding white glow. When the light had returned to normal, the boy was standing in the same place before the light, but the barrier had disappeared and something seemed to have changed.

The Card Mistress shook as tears spilled from her closed eyes, when a voice called out to her, "Please don't cry. It'll be alright." Confused, she looked up to see a glowing card drifting into her hands. Hope, it read.

"Huh, that kid?" she murmured, looking up into the eyes of the one she loved. "Syaoran-kun," she started… but then hesitated. She tried again, this time the words slipping out desperately, "Syaoran-kun, even if you don't feel anything towards me anymore… I love you. You're my number one, Syaoran-kun!"

She waited for his reaction, but saw none. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she looked towards the face of the boy, who was glancing impassively at her. Tears fell out of her eyes as she started sobbing again.

"Me too…" a voice pierced the silence, making the girl start and look up hesitantly. The boy had a smile on his face as he spoke her name, "Sakura."

_**(End of Flashback)

* * *

**_

"Kinomoto-san…" a voice drifted into the peaceful world of dreams.

"Five minutes, Kero-chan… just five minutes…"

"Kinomoto-san," the voice repeated, this time accompanied by little bells of laughter.

The sleeping girl felt no need to reply with words, just silence.

"Kinomoto-san!" the voice yelled, breaking through the barrier between reality and dreams.

"Hoeeeeee!" the loud response shook the whole of Tomoeda Junior High. Birds lazing on the rooftops flew away from the loud disturbance for the safety of the nearby trees around the campus of the school.

Terada-sensei winced at the loudness of his student and rubbed his ears. After moving over from Tomoeda Elementary School, he had become the teacher of Sakura's 8th grade class for his beloved student Rika, and also because of the better pay. Rika was a close friend of the sleepy classmate he had been trying to get to pay attention. "Do I have your attention now, Kinomoto-san?" he asked the cowering student. Her face turning red, the girl with auburn colored hair nodded silently as the rest of the class burst into laughter.

The classmate sitting to her right turned with a sly look on her face. "Sakura-chan, you were dreaming about _him_ again, right?" she asked, stressing the word 'him.'

Blushing red again, Sakura Kinomoto stammered to her best friend, "H-Him? Wh-What are you talking about Tomoyo-chan?"

* * *

Sakura Kinomoto

Age: 13 (Turning 14 on April 1st.)

Grade: 8th Grade at Tomoeda Junior High

Physical characteristics: Auburn hair that reached the middle of her neck / Emerald green colored eyes

Eligibility: Single

Love Interests: Syaoran Li

* * *

Tomoyo replied mischievously, "_Him_, as in Li Syaoran. As to my source of information…" another mischievous gleam shone from her eyes, "you were whispering his name in your dream. And before you say anything else…" She continued on, cutting off Sakura's yelp of protest, "I have proof, because..."

* * *

Tomoyo Daidouji,

Age: 14 (Turned 14 on September 3rd.)

Grade: 8th Grade at Tomoeda Junior High

Physical characteristics: Dark flowing hair with a hint of purple that is easy to stylize, despite the fact that it almost reaches her waist / Dark, amethyst colored eyes.

Eligibility: Single

Love Interests: Currently none.

* * *

As she said those last words, she took out her new miniature camcorder, which developed by the company that was owned by her mother, Sonomi Daidouji. It was only an inch in length and could, not only record, but play back the scenes on a miniature screen that extended from the side. Even though the advanced features were severely lacking, once plugged into another of the Daidouji's technological products, she could watch and edit movies to her content. This was one of those times she was happy to have a rich family to be able to fulfill the thirst for her hobby: videotaping everything Sakura did or wore! She whispered one last comment to her best friend before turning back towards the teacher, managing to watch her friend's deep blush out of the corner of her eye… "_I have it on tape._"

* * *

Later that day, an ecstatic Tomoyo screamed as she ran towards Sakura's locker, "Sakura-chan!"

"Hoe!" Sakura exclaimed, dropping the books and papers she was holding. She had been sorting through her locker and was busy organizing her textbooks when Tomoyo had arrived. "Tomoyo-chan?" she inquired as she picked up her dropped books.

A starry-eyed Tomoyo picked up a folder and handed it to her friend. "Sorry if I surprised you, but you just look so cute in your uniform!"

"But Tomoyo-chan, I wear this uniform every day!" The girls at the junior high school were wearing a uniform similar to Tomoeda Elementary School, where they used to go two years ago. It had a white pleated skirt that reached their knees and a dark blue shirt with the symbol of the school on both sleeves: a white feather with a ruby colored gem. The uniform also had a small white cloak that reached to their waists and was attached with a feather shaped clasp just under the neck, but it did not go around the arms, giving the students the unrestricted use of their hands. It also, did not billow out when there was wind and stayed near the body so it did not get in the way.

"True, true, but anything Sakura-chan wears looks good to me and my camera," she replied steadily, whipping out a video camera. She started filming as Sakura sighed, put her stuff back into her locker, and closed it. "Sakura-chan! Smile and wave at the camera!"

Sakura sighed again, but did what her friend asked knowing that Tomoyo would keep bugging her the whole way back to the intersection where they separated to go to their own homes. And so, they started to walk out of the campus.

"Sakura-chan, your birthday is coming up this Sunday right?"

"Really? I totally forgot!"

"So, are you going to have a party? Who are you going to invite?" Tomoyo asked with her mouth moving more and more quickly, only stopping to take a single breath before continuing, "Can I plan it for you? Please, please, please wear my costumes and let me film you and-"

Sakura cut off Tomoyo quickly before she could say anything else, "Tomoyo-chan, stop! I can't answer all these questions at once! Give me a break!"

"Oh… so?" her friend replied, breathing evenly for someone who had been rambling on and on.

"So what?"

"Can I? Can I? Can I?"

"Um… can you what?"

Tomoyo blinked, "Can I do what I asked before?"

"Ano…" Sakura murmured, staring straight ahead, "Well, you were speaking so fast that I got confused so... Can you repeat it again, this time slowly?"

A sigh came back from Tomoyo's direction.

In the end, Sakura gave Tomoyo permission to plan her birthday party on the two conditions that they had to choose the guests together and that there would be… NO COSTUMES!

"Well, see you later Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura yelled to Tomoyo when they split up at the intersection. She hummed to herself as she skipped along towards her house thinking about the presents she would get. "Let's see… I wonder what onii-chan will get me… probably a fake spider that he'll plant in my bed. Or, knowing him, he'd probably get me nothing at all and then hide some money in my locker two months later with a fake note of apology!"

As she nervously thought of ways to stop her brother from torturing her, she didn't hear the truck coming until it was almost too late.

"Sakura-chan, watch out!" a voice called out to her.

"Huh?" Confused, she stopped, looked behind her and saw the truck coming straight at her. The driver honked the horn and stepped on the brakes but it looked as if it was going to be too late. Just in time, a man yanked her out of the way onto the sidewalk as the car sped past. The driver stopped, opened the door and yelled out, "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," the man who had saved her yelled back to the driver, who shakily got back into the car and drove away.

Sakura looked up into the face of… "Yukito-san!"

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?" the tall man with glasses and silver hair asked.

* * *

Yukito Tsukishiro

Age: 22 (Turned 22 on February 29th)

Grade: College Junior at Seishun College in Tomoeda. (Majoring in Chemistry / Minor in Biology.)

Physical characteristics: Short silvery grey hair / Wire framed glasses and black colored eyes.

Best Friend: Toya Kinomoto

Job: Disguise for the Card Mistress's Guardian, Yue. Part time job as a waiter in a famous restaurant near Seishun College.

* * *

"Yeah…" Sakura-chan murmured, the shock of the near death experience only now settling in. Confused, she looked up at Yukito and asked, "Thanks for saving me, but why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in college?"

"The college is doing some remodeling, so our school is taking the rest of this week off. Now that I think about it, your birthday is coming up on Sunday isn't it? Today's Tuesday so that means I have five more days to find you a present. I am invited to your party aren't I?"

"O-Of course! But, you really don't need to get me a present…"

"That's alright. It's only fair that I get you a present after what you did for me when it was my birthday. Besides, it would look weird if I was the only one who came without a present, right?"

"I-I guess," Sakura replied uncertainly, thinking back to when she had performed magic at the small birthday party they had held for Yukito. Even though there were only five people there, Sakura, her brother, her father, Tomoyo, and Yukito himself, they had a lot of fun. It was too bad that Yukito's grandparents couldn't make it as their flight was delayed. "If you put it that way," Sakura smiled up at Yukito who smiled back. Then, "Eh?" she looked back and asked, "Isn't your house back that way Yukito-san?"

"It is, but I'm staying over at your house for the rest of the week because my grandparents left for a three day trip today and I left my keys in my house so…" he trailed off, grinning sheepishly. It was a well known fact that, though his grandparents loved him, they loved traveling around the world even more, above all you could say. "Toya and your father already said I could, but is it alright with you? It's your home too?"

"Of course, it'll be fun having you over Yukito-san!" Sakura assured him. Then a thought struck her, "If you and onii-chan go to the same college and you have the rest of the week off… that means he'll be at home for the whole week too! Oh no… I'm going to be tortured to death with his comments… Kero-chan is going to be annoyed too." She stiffened… _Why did I mention Kero-chan, it's supposed to be a secret… but wait. Yukito-san, onii-chan, and otou-san already know about him, so what am I worrying about? _

"Don't worry about Toya," Yukito reassured Sakura, mistakenly thinking that Sakura's uncomfortable feelings were wholly due to her brother's habit of picking on her. "Our shifts at the restaurant are at night, and you have school so you'll only see him later in the afternoon. And if it makes you feel any better, I'll make a deal with you. I'll keep Toya off your back if you cook me dinner tonight, alright?"

"Hai!" Sakura exclaimed, with a grin on her face.

* * *

**Ending Note: **To the readers who have read this chapter before, note that I have combined my old chapters 1 and 2 together so that it is a bit longer. I have also corrected typos and added slightly more descriptions to certain parts of the story. Note: the 'profiles' have been mostly unchanged. Last thing you need to know is to check the announcement 'chapter' and maybe my profile once in a while for the update info. Well, see you next time at the next revised chapter! 


	3. Chapter 2: Surfacing Changes

**Author's Note: **This updated version of Chapter 2 is a combination of the old Chapters 3 and 4. Enjoy!

**Reviewer's Note: **To Anonymous Reviewer d -Can you add what is mean? I don't understand what you're saying...

**Summary: **2 years after the second movie of Card Captor Sakura: The Sealed Card, life seems pretty normal compared to the Card Days, as Sakura and her friends refer to it, not including the training Keroberos forces Sakura to do and the fact that she is having a relationship with Syaoran who is now living back in Hong Kong. However, when magical entities are stirring up inside and around Tomoeda, what will the crew do? Will they take an aggressive stance and run straight into trouble or will they somehow figure out a way keep away from disaster?

**A Riot of Surprise**

**Chapter 2: Surfacing Changes**

"I'm home! If anyone is back like onii-chan and cares, I brought a guest!" Sakura yelled into the house as she and Yukito took off their shoes.

"Well, well, look who it is. You're back already Kaijuu."

"I am not a Kaijuu onii-chan!" Sakura screamed at her older brother, her face turning red from anger.

* * *

Toya Kinomoto

Age: 21 (Turning 22 on December 25th)

Grade: College Junior at Seishun College in Tomoeda. (Majoring in Chemistry / Minor in Biology.)

Physical characteristics: Dark black hair / Brown eyes.

Best Friend: Yukito Tsukishiro

Job: Sakura's "annoying and overprotective" older brother... or so she says.Part time job as a waiter in a famous restaurant near Seishun College.

* * *

"Not expecting me to be back so early, shorty? Who's your guest anyways Kaijuu…" he trailed off as Yukito rounded the corner, "Yukito! Don't tell me you're the guest Kaijuu is speaking of… You warned her ahead of time didn't you? I thought I could trust you!" Toya Kinomoto jested.

"Hey, don't talk to my guest that way! And lay off on the insults, you're ruining my day," Sakura replied ill-naturedly. "Just because you're so much older than me and taller than me doesn't give you the right to call me names that are not true. I'll have you know that I'm not short compared to some of the girls at school!"

"You keep on believing whatever you want, kid."

"Toya, when will you learn that teasing your sister is not a good way to deal with your… habit."

Blushing slightly, Toya stammered, "Sh-Shut up Yukito." Recovering, he cleared his throat and continued, "Little sister, Yukito can't be your guest because he's mine! So hurry up and make some tea for _my_ guest."

"Hmmph, fine then, have it your way." She smiled thankfully to Yukito before hurrying towards the kitchen to brew some tea.

"You just had to tell her didn't you?"

"All these years and you still have that sister-complex (1) don't you? It's her birthday this Sunday, Toya, so give her a break when she's around, or else I'll make you buy me breakfast, lunch, and dinner!"

"What kind of a threat is that?"

"You know how much I eat. We've known each other for a long time now. If that doesn't make you go broke, I don't know what will!"

Toya made a strange choking noise before finally relenting, "F-fine, just don't empty my pocket every time I _accidentally_ insult her. Old habits die hard!"

"Onii-chan, Yukito-san, the tea is ready!"

* * *

After serving the tea, Sakura rushed up the stairs to her room and opened the door. She sighed as she heard the sound of games. Looking towards the television in front of her she spotted Keroberos, Guardian of the Seal, the Selector, and a whole bunch of useless titles. He resembled an orange plush toy with white wings but his true form was much larger and "much more awesome and cooler than anything you'll ever see in you life," as he constantly reminds everyone.

"Sakura! You're back from school! How was your day?"

Walking from the door, which was on the right side of the room, she went past her bed directly to her left and over to her desk which was in front of the bed. She opened the book titled Sakura lying on her desk before replying. "It was fine. Tomoyo-chan is planning a birthday party for me and Yukito and onii-chan are downstairs. Apparently, their college is remodeling so they're both back early and are going to stay here for the rest of the week." The book was very special for it contained all the cards she had made from two years ago.

* * *

(_If you know the story, which would be most people who read this, then go ahead and skip forward._)

Three years ago, she had accidentally stumbled upon the Clow Cards – magical cards created by the magician Clow Reed who also created Keroberos and his counterpart Yue to guard the book. Accidentally scattering the cards, Sakura was chosen as Card Captor by Keroberos the Selector and was given the job to collect all the cards and prevent a great disaster from occurring. She managed to collect all 52 cards with the help of her friend Tomoyo Daidouji and two transfer students from Hong Kong: Syaoran Li and Meiling Li.

The young representative of the Li clan, Syaoran, was sent to Tomoeda by the Elders of the clan to collect the Clow Cards and immediately became her rival in both the cards and in love. Sakura was in love with Yukito back then but she eventually realized that her number one was not in fact the older smiling man but the boy who changed from being a rival to being a friend. Syaoran also had magic, and was arrogant and cold in the beginning. His cousin, Meiling Li, arrived in the middle of all the mayhem the cards were causing. Labeled a black sheep of the magical and prominent Li clan because she had no magic, she came to Japan because she wanted to help the one she loved, Syaoran – who did not love her in return – collect the cards and to win his heart. After getting to be friends with Sakura, she returned to Hong Kong before the conflict was over.

After collecting all the cards, they met Yue the Judge, who Sakura had to fight in order to prevent a disaster from occurring upon the earth. With icy blue eyes, long silver hair, and white wings, Yue was cold and aloof and much more serious and intimidating than his counterpart, Keroberos the Selector but Sakura was able to win him over to their side. Soon after that, Eriol Hiiragizawa arrived.

Eriol was the reincarnation of Clow Reed and started creating trouble for Sakura and the gang after transferring over from England. From the shadows, he used his great magic to test and train Sakura and to help her turn the Clow Cards into cards of her very own: Sakura Cards. That would make her finally able to handle whatever might come her way. Eriol revealed his identity when his final test made all the citizens in Tomoeda fall asleep and remain asleep forever unless Sakura could break Eriol's spell. The task forced Sakura to change all the remaining Clow Cards she had at that time into new Sakura Cards. With the help of Yue, Keroberos, and Syaoran she managed to dispel the darkness, and it was at that time that Syaoran confessed his love to Sakura. Before Sakura could straighten out her feelings, Syaoran was called back to Hong Kong. Eriol also left soon after, saying he had business elsewhere and leaving a dependable Card Mistress behind to deal with any threat that might come their way.

(_Here's the summary of the second movie, the Sealed Card_.)

A year later, Clow Reed's mansion in Tomoeda was demolished and underneath it a sealed card emerged. This card, the Nothing, took Sakura's card from her and started tearing Tomoeda apart. It contained the negative and opposite energy of all of Sakura's cards. To return everything to normal, she had to seal the card but in return, she would lose her most cherished feelings, her love for Syaoran and Syaoran's love for her. In the end, she sealed the card but managed to avoid the penalty as a card she had created fused with the Nothing and formed the Hope. That was when Sakura and Syaoran's long-distance relationship started.

(_End Summary._)

* * *

"Sakura… Sakura. Oi, Sakura!"

"Hoe!" Sakura looked at the sound of the voice and started blushing as she remembered what she had been thinking about earlier in school that day.

"You've been awfully spaced out these days Sakura. Is it because of that brat?"

"Syaoran-kun is not a brat!"

"A-ha! So you were thinking about him!"

Sakura looked down as she blushed again.

"Serves you right for not listening to me; and I thought I was your top priority since you were talking to me… Anyways, I asked you what your annoying brother and snow rabbit are doing downstairs!"

Sakura spoke before thinking as she shuffled through her cards with a smile, "They're drinking tea and eating biscuits."

"What? You served them tea and biscuits but you left nothing for me, the cool and awesome Keroberos who happens to be your mentor? How could you leave me out of the loop?"

"G-Gomen, Kero-chan, I totally forgot… I'm still not used to the fact that my family and Yukito-san know about you."

"Of course they know! How could we hide it when Toya knows about Yue and Yukito saw me when he woke up after you sealed the Nothing?"

"That's weird… You said onii-chan's name and Yukito-san's name. You never do that."

"That shows how angry I am! Now lead me to my prize or face my wrath! Victory shall be mine… I'll show that brother of yours my awesome eating skills. He'll never be as refined as me when it comes to food."

"Kero-chan, you know you're really greedy… right?"

"You'll never understand the tastes of a cool guy like me."

"That's right, I'll never understand because no cool guy would be like you, Kero-"

Sakura blinked at the open door as Kero flew out and down yelling, "My prize awaits!"

She then winced as she heard her brother's loud voice, "Get away from my cup you talking plush toy!"

* * *

Later that night, Sakura fell asleep quickly after a delicious dinner of spaghetti, which she handmade for Yukito. Moments after she fell asleep, a certain special and magical card glowed in the deck of cards lying on the desk where Sakura had left them after saying good night to Keroberos and to her cards. These cards were special indeed, for not only did they possess great magic and the power of the elements, but they were also sentient beings. A few seconds afterwards, the sleeping girl shifted uncomfortably in her blankets and her forehead started to shimmer with sweat.

**_A dream…?_**

_A ripple formed from a drop of water that broke the surface of what was suddenly a pond. The resulting splash triggered more ripples until the water was filled with moving waves that grew until it crashed over Sakura's view. _

_The scene changed as she heard a whistle from the wind that blew over the green grass of a large field. The peacefulness shattered as the wind changed from a breeze to a gale that flattened the grass and wiped clean the world from view._

_A hiss of thunder found its way to Sakura's ear as the sky lighted up before a boom resounded in the air. Thunder shot down from dark foreboding clouds that hovered over the peaceful images of the pond and grass from scenes past. Bolts shot down into the ground, igniting the world into flames._

_Crackles from small flames quickly grew into roars of hunger as the raging fire devoured all of its surroundings.

* * *

_

All traces of the dream fled from her mind as an alarm rang loudly at the sleeping girl, who quickly slammed the button on the clock to silence it. Out of habit, she pulled it under her covers. The next second, a second alarm rang, and was dealt with in the same manner. Finally, the last alarm came in _3… 2… 1…_

"SAKURA!"

"HOE!" Sakura leapt up out of bed and looked straight into the face of a monster, "Ahhhhhhhhh… a monster!"

The monster too fell backwards with a cry of surprise before flying back into Sakura's face, "What do you mean a monster? I try to wake you up and all you do is scream at me?"

"Hoe? Kero-chan? You scared me… I thought you were something that came straight out of a dream."

"What kind of a dream is that?"

She yawned and ignored the comment, "What time is it…? It's only six-thirty! School doesn't start until eight! Great! You woke me up for nothing and I didn't have morning duties today either…! Kero-chan?"

The guardian looked up distractedly, "Huh? Oh sorry. Now what were you saying?"

"Is… something wrong?"

"It's nothing. Just my mind playing tricks on me. For a second there, I thought I had sensed a magical aura during the night and then I thought I felt it again a second ago." He sighed, "I guess playing too many horror games does that to me, makes me jumpy and nervous."

Confused, Sakura got up and went to the bathroom. Soon afterwards, an earsplitting cry shook the house as Sakura topple out of the bathroom and hurriedly got up. "Sakura! What's the matter? Are we under attack?" Kero yelled to the shaking girl.

Sakura calmed herself and said, "I forgot that we had early cheerleading practice today. Seeing the note posted on my mirror – where I had posted it yesterday – gave me quite a shock. So that's why I had three alarms today. Kero-chan?" Kero dropped to the floor with a thud, the energy leaving his body as a mixture of shock, annoyance,and disbelief overcame his consciousness.

"Oi! Kero-chan! Are you alright?" When there was no response, Sakura set the fainted guardian onto her desk before glancing at the clock. Another cry came from her mouth before she quickly changed into her school uniform and was about to finish tying her hair with a pink ribbon when something fell out of the bundle of clothes she had put away. Finishing with the ribbon, she bent down and picked up a card. It was one of, and strangely enough, it was The Dream, a card that gave foretelling dreams. How it had got there, she didn't know, but she soon put it out of her mind as she took another peek at her clock and quickly set the card down. She left a note for Kero next to the card and the guardian. He would want answers when he finally woke up and found her gone for school.

* * *

Running down the stairs, Sakura braced herself for the usual annoying comment from her brother and received: silence.

"Good morning Sakura-chan! Thank you for cooking dinner yesterday night."

Sakura smiled into the kitchen as she remembered her deal with Yukito the day before and said, "Ohayo, Yukito-san. Ohayo, onii-chan." When Toya didn't reply, she smiled once a gain and frowned at Toya for his lack of manners. She then turned to a picture of a beautiful woman on the table. Every morning, for as long as she remembered, she had said good morning to the woman in that picture, whether she was wearing different clothes or not. This picture, was of her deceased mother that died at twenty-seven years old when Sakura herself was three. Her father kindly put different pictures of her from the past; pictures from family outings or from the modeling work she had done. Sadly, she couldn't quite remember Nadeshiko Kinomoto, but loved her nonetheless.

Smiling at the good habit, Toya spoke up, "Kaijuu, why are you up so early? It's not even close to your normal mad rush to get to school on time." As he spoke, he set four trays of breakfast: a two egg omelet entrée with a piece of buttered toast, a glass of milk, and an apple.

Not noticing the insult as she was lost in her thoughts, she replied, "Kero-chan woke me up early this morning for cheerleading practice. Thanks for the breakfast." Turning to the stairs, she called out, "Kero-chan! Breakfast!"

Eyes narrowing at the unexpected reaction (or no reaction in this case) from his little sister, he was about to ask her if something was wrong when a yellow blur shot past him and landed on the table. "Omelet!" he yelled as he waited anxiously to start eating. Sighing, Toya and the rest said, "Itadakimasu!"

* * *

"I'm going to school now!" Sakura called out as she left the house. As she left, she spotted a large moving truck parked to the house next door. Their neighbors had moved some time ago, and now that she thought of it, she remembered seeing a "Sold!" sign on the grassy front lawn a few days ago. The house was white and had one floor only. It was much smaller compared to her house but it was very nice and cozy looking, at least from the outside.

"May I help you?" a voice asked next to her. She spun around and saw a boy about her age, slightly taller than her looking, at her with a smile on his face. Curious, she noted that he was Japanese, though he looked different and slightly out of place due to his foreign-looking clothes. He had black hair that reached his ears and down to his neck but did not touch his back. After a quick glance at his appearance, Sakura was about to reply to his question when their eyes met. Sakura froze, an icy and chilling feeling creeping up her back. Those eyes chilled her to the bone, yet they also attracter her attention as they seemed to dance with colors, the sun playing havoc with his eyes, making them change from one color to the next as though it was unsure of its natural color. "Is my Japanese really that terrible?" the boy muttered to himself.

Realizing that she had been standing there, doing nothing but stare at the boy as if he was too strange to approach, she blushed and quickly replied, "No, there's nothing wrong with your Japanese. It's just that I have a tendency to act like an airhead and I've never seen you here before. Of course, you just moved here, so of course I wouldn't have seen you around anyways…" She trailed off, realizing that she had been embarrassing herself, yet again.

Before she could apologize, the boy spoke again, "As a matter of fact, I just got here today. I came from America and was wondering whether or not I had an accent, but at least I can understand you well enough. But we've been talking for a few minutes and I still haven't introduced myself. My name is Reizan Saitakou; may I ask what's yours?" He bowed politely to her.

Recovering quickly, Sakura said, "Nice to meet you. I'm Sakura Kinomoto and I live next door." She also gave a short bow.

"Nice to meet you too," Reizan replied. "Considering that you're wearing a school uniform, could you by any chance be going to Tomoeda Junior High?"

"Yes, you are correct, why do you ask?" Sakura asked back.

"No reason at all," Reizan replied nonchalantly.

"Hoe?"

"Hoe? Now that is an expression I've never heard before."

Suddenly, someone else broke into their conversation, "_That_ is my dear little sister's trademark reaction. She screams that whenever she's in shock or just plain confused."

"Onii-chan, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked her brother, who was standing behind her, nervously. She noticed the angry gleam in his eyes as they glared daggers at the new boy and added in a whisper, "Do me a favor and don't embarrass me."

"Who are you?" Toya added with another glare, pointedly ignoring his sister.

"My name is Reizan Saitakou, nice to meet you…?"

"Toya Kinomoto," he snapped. Then, turning to Sakura he added, "It's five to seven. If you don't hurry, you'll be late for practice, again."

Sakura gasped, "What? It's already so late? I have to go!" Then, turning to her new neighbor, she said, "It was nice meeting you Saitakou-kun, I hope we can be good neighbors. Now, I have to run, see you around." Before she left, she glared pointedly at Toya with a look that said, "You'll regret this if it's the last thing you do!"

"Goodbye, Kinomoto-san," Reizan said with a wave of his hand before turning back to the other Kinomoto who was still glaring at him. "Do you enjoy glaring that much? If you're worried, she'll probably be just fine; she looks like she knows how to take care of herself."

Reizanwatched Sakura skip cheerfully away before turning back to Toya who replied, "You obviously haven't known her very long. Oh wait, you only just met. Stay away from my sister or you'll regret it!"

"I assure you, I have no such interest in your sister. All I want is to get to know my new next door neighbors a little better. Is that not too much to ask? Now if you'll please excuse me, I have to unpack. Sorry, for just leaving you here, but I really don't have time for this conversation." Reizan left with a smile while Toya stared heatedly at his back before he disappeared into the house.

Toya muttered to himself as he headed back to the Kinomoto house, "There's a storm brewing and change is coming. This better not have anything to do with magic, but I have a feeling that everything is centered around this new guy and Sakura… and my feelings are hardly ever wrong."

* * *

**Notes**

1 The 'sister-complex' Yukito is referring to is the actions of the overprotective Toya of Sakura who tries to keep away anyone who might hurt Sakura, namely males, even if that person might bring her joy. It also refers to the fact that he believes that only he can taunt and tease Sakura because he is her older brother; no one else has that right!

**Japanese Translations**

"Itadakimasu" – "I am eating now," or, "Enjoy your meal." Used before eating.

Gomen – Sorry

Onii-chan – Older Brother

Otou-san – Father

* * *

**Ending Note: **What I've changed: The name of the new character, parts of the anime and movie summary, corrected most typos I've found, and changed the whole dream. My plan for the character is to add more of him into the story. That's why I've undertaken the task of rewriting the whole thing. And… some of the names of characters I'm introducing need changing. Some aren't very catchy… are they? 


	4. Chapter 3: Transferring From America

**Author's Note: **Have you noticed that in CCS, all the transfer students have something to do with Sakura and have a certain… response to Sakura and Sakura only? Syaoran and Meilin glare and Eriol smiles unnervingly.

**Summary: **2 years after the second movie of Card Captor Sakura: The Sealed Card, life seems pretty normal, not including the training Keroberos forces Sakura to do over the summers and the fact that most of her allowance is spent on sending mail to Syaoran who is living all the way back in Hong Kong. However, when magical entities are stirring up inside and around Tomoeda, what will the crew do? Will they take an aggressive stance, run straight into trouble, or somehow figure out a way keep away from disaster?

**A Riot of Surprise**

**Chapter 3: Transferring all the Way from America!**

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo greeted as Sakura rushed into the classroom. The bell rang as Sakura tiredly replied in greeting. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan? You seem tired."

"Kero-chan woke me up early today," she replied, sitting down at her desk and taking out her books.

Tomoyo giggled at the expression of exasperation on Sakura's face before saying, "But if you woke up early, why are you almost late?"

"Oh, I had cheerleading practice today, and it managed to run late. But besides all that, I met someone new this morning. Remember the house next to mine that was empty before? A boy just moved in next door. He said he was from America and that his name was-" but before she could continue, Terada-sensei walked into the room and the class quieted down.

"I'm starting homeroom now. Well class, today I have a special announcement to make. We have a new student transferring all the way from America joining us today. He will be here for the trimester and probably longer, seeing as he has recently moved here to Tomoeda. You may come in now." Sakura's eyes widened as the boy she met that morning stepped into the room in a school uniform. The boy's uniform was pretty much the same as the girl's uniform, except it lacked askirt of course. It had a dark blue shirt with the school symbol on the chest instead of the sleeves and short, white pants that reached their knees. They also had the same style of cloak the girls wore.

"Nice to meet you," the transfer student said with a short bow as Terada-sensei wrote his name in kanji on the board. There were a bunch of murmurs from the class until Terada-sensei spoke again.

"This is Reizan Saitakou, he transferred from Los Angeles, California and he will be joining us this year," Terada-sensei said. "He has just moved to Japan, so please welcome him and help him around the school. Now, where will you sit?" He looked around and spotted an empty seat to the right of Tomoyo. "How about there, next to Daidouji-san?"

Reizan walked to the seat he was directed to and smiled at Sakura and Tomoyo before sitting down. "Nice to meet you Daidouji-san," he whispered to Tomoyo. "And Kinomoto-san," he added with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Saitakou-kun," she replied. Sakura nodded as she fought off another wave of unease and grinned back weakly.

* * *

Sakura sighed in relief as the bell rang for lunch as Terada-sensei closed his book. She had been feeling uncomfortable and slightly queasy, ever since Reizan had arrived that morning. For some reason, she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling lodged in her stomach. "You are dismissed, you may go to lunch," Terada-sensei said, and the class filed out for lunch. Sakura packed her bags and followed Tomoyo out the door. Before she left however, she heard Terada-sensei call out to her friend, "Sasaki-san, may I speak to you?"

Rika Sasaki looked up from her desk and blushed slightly, smiling up at her teacher before nodding alright.

* * *

Rika Sasaki

Age: 13 (Turning 14 on June 24th)

Grade: 8th Grade at Tomoeda Junior High

Physical characteristics: Dark amber hair / Dark brown eyes

Eligibility: Taken

Love Interests: Yoshiyuki Terada

* * *

Sakura grinned to herself, happy for Rika and Terada-sensei. She was brought back to reality when she heard Tomoyo's loud, impatient yells for her to hurry up from halfway across campus.

Outside on the grass, Sakura, Tomoyo and three of her other friends ate lunch together. They sat in the grass under the shade of tall leafy trees in a circle. "Brr… it's getting cold today," Naoko, a girl with round rimmed glasses said as she drank a hot cup of tea from her thermos.

* * *

Naoko Yanagisawa

Age: 14 (Turned 14 on October 11th)

Grade: 8th Grade at Tomoeda Junior High

Physical characteristics: Light brown hair / Brown eyes

Eligibility: Single

Love Interests: None

* * *

Holding up one finger, Yamazaki, preferring to be called by his surname, even by his friends, started another tall tale. Known for his lies, he began, saying, "Did you know that if the temperature suddenly drops in the spring, it means that a blizzard will soon cover the town in snow? It is said that the Ice God, who favors winter, throws a tantrum every spring at the fact that summer is soon approaching."

* * *

Takashi Yamazaki

Age: 14 (Turned 14 on June 1st)

Grade: 8th Grade at Tomoeda Junior High

Physical characteristics: Short black hair / Black colored eyes though he rarely opens his eyes enough to show them.

Eligibility: Taken

Love Interests: Chiharu Mihara (Though they don't like to admit it openly.)

* * *

Sitting next to Yamazaki, his best friend/girlfriend, Chiharu, put two firm hands around his throat and started strangling him, "What a load of lies Yamazaki-kun! That's all I hear from you; lies, lies, and more lies!"

* * *

Chiharu Mihara

Age: 14 (Turned 14 on May 28th)

Grade: 8th Grade at Tomoeda Junior High

Physical characteristics: Light brown hair in pigtails / Dark brown eyes

Eligibility: Taken

Love Interests: Takashi Yamazaki (Though they don't like to admit it openly.)

* * *

The others laughed at the antics of Yamazaki and Chiharu, and were about to start eating when a voice said, "But doesn't the Fire God also do that during the Fall?" The group looked up in shock as Reizan walked over to Yamazaki, who only nodded in agreement to the comment.

Naoko, who loved scary stories and myths about the supernatural, asked, "So is that why the temperature also seems to fluctuate between hot and cold during Autumn?"

"You're right, but that's not all," Yamazaki continued, despite Chiharu's hands still wrapped around his throat, "It is also said that the only way to stop the world from being buried in snow during the spring is to do the fire dance and yell out to the God of Fire for help by playing the Can-Can on the Harmonica. Did I get it right?"

"I think so," Reizan said with a pondering look.

_Déjà vu…_ Sakura thought, remembering her friend, Eriol Hiiragizawa, who had worked together with Yamazaki to tell tall tales when he had transferred to Japan to test and train her magic. The only difference was that Reizan's comments seemed to be more of a support and much more believable (at least at first glance), and less dramatic than either Eriol or Yamazaki. If you thought of it another way, you would say that he fell for Yamazaki's lies, hook, line, and sinker. But that wasn't possible… was it?

After bantering for awhile more, Reizan mentioned that it was just some tale he had heard and Yamazaki agreed. This produced a few uneasy chuckles at the serious looks the two had on their faces when they had been talking.

After they started eating, Naoko, Chiharu, and Yamazaki asked Reizan about his life story. "I took the plane here myself, with the company of my um… bird and cat. I have an older cousin coming to live with me in a few days who's bringing some of the bigger pieces of furniture for the house, and my pet dog," Reizan replied to one of Chiharu's questions.

"Wow, that amazing!" Naoko exclaimed. "Coming to Japan by yourself and moving into a house all alone. You're quite brave!"

Reizan squirmed uncomfortably at the compliment and muttered, "It's not that big of a deal. I've done this all my life."

"Really? Why's that?" Chiharu asked.

"Let's just call it family matters," Reizan answered with a grin.

Chiharu and Naoko looked confused, but Yamazaki, who had been strangely quiet, launched into another lie, distracting the two girls with his antics as he glanced at Reizan with a look thatseemed to convey the meaning that heunderstood or could relate. Reizan doubted he could either understood or relate as hisanswer was a lie.

While the others talked, Sakura and Tomoyo were holding their own little conversation.

"He seems nice enough, doesn't he? Kind of like Hiiragizawa-san, ne Sakura?"

"Like Eriol-kun? Maybe… I guess he sounds a little bit like him, kind of…" Sakura replied distractedly.

"Is something bothering you Sakura-chan? Come to think of it, you've been acting weird all morning."

"There's not really anything bothering me."

"Come on, you can tell me, I'm your best friend after all." Tomoyo had a look of concern on her face as she waited for Sakura to talk.

Sakura was about to repeat that she was alright, but changed her mind. "It's nothing really important… but I have a feeling that something is going to happen soon, and that something has to do with Saitakou-kun. I also have the feeling that he is interested in me, in one way or the other, and I don't really want to hurt his feelings; there's already someone for me after all."

"I don't think you need to worry about his feelings, he's probably not interested in you as a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked with a light smile, but her humor was short lived as the serious frown replaced it once again. "But are you sure Tomoyo-chan? Because… I have this weird, cold feeling that crawls up my spine every time I look at his eyes. I also felt someone watching me during the whole period and it came from his direction."

"I can almost one hundred percent guarantee that he is not interested in you like a girl. What I can't say though, is that if he is interested in you or not for another reason. Still, if you really feel that way, maybe you should be a little more cautious and careful around him until you feel more comfortable. That's all the advice I can give you on that subject. As to your feelings of unease, you'll be just fine. Not only are you the chosen Card Mistress with strong allies, you also have your invincible spell!"

Sakura nodded, "I will definitely be alright!"

* * *

**Ending Note:** And here's the revised version of what used to be my chapter 5. Now, it is the new and improved chapter 3. I changed everything about my new character during this chapter, but Sakura and friends are mostly unchanged. (Changed as in what they do.) 


	5. Chapter 4: The First Hint of Danger

**Author's Note: **For anyone who expects this in every story, I'm adding this disclaimer. Every character and location from Card Captor Sakura that I use is not mine. It would be plagiarizing if I didn't have this disclaimer, so I will now add that this disclaimer is for the whole story, and not just this one!

**Summary: **2 years after the second movie of Card Captor Sakura: The Sealed Card, life seems pretty normal, not including the training Keroberos forces Sakura to do over the summers and the fact that most of her allowance is spent on sending mail to Syaoran who is living all the way back in Hong Kong. However, when magical entities are stirring up inside and around Tomoeda, what will the crew do? Will they take an aggressive stance, run straight into trouble, or somehow figure out a way keep away from disaster?

**A Riot of Surprise**

**Chapter 4: The First Hint of Danger**

After meeting Reizan Saitakou, the rest of the school day passed by without much incident, though Sakura continued to be puzzled by the effect that Reizan's eyes had on her. She was soon getting used to the feeling of chills shooting up her spine, if that could be possible. Her thoughts fortunately did not affect her too at all because she managed to put the uneasy feelings to the back of her mind. However, cheerleading, on the other hand, did affect her. She had been cheerleading for a while now, starting in fourth grade at Tomoeda Elementary School. Somehow, "for some strange reason," as she felt, she had been elected the role of vice-captain of the cheerleading squad and was quite busy in helping the captain figure out what they should do for their routines for the next big game. Basketball and football season had finished a month ago, but now they were extra busy preparing for the soccer season in which tryouts were being held the next week. All this added up to long and dreary afternoon practices and bright and early morning practices; which exhausted even hyper and highly energetic Kero, seeing as how he served as her third alarm clock every morning. Of course, he would be busy playing video games the moment he finished breakfast.

Adding to her exhaustion, Tomoyo asked Sakura a bunch of questions about her soon-to-be-planned birthday party. For instance, one major thing discussed was the design of the invitation cards and the unfinished guest list. They had decided to host the party at Tomoyo's mansion, but there were a lot of things to finish up. Even though Tomoyo had made a deal that stated no costumes, she managed to persuade Sakura to wear her 'Birthday Design – 003' which was surprisingly normal. Just a pink top, with short sleeves and not even a hint of lace. A matching pink skirt with matching shoes and a birthday hat, that had not been shown to Sakura yet, completed the handmade outfit. All that managed to keep Sakura busy for the remainder of Wednesday and extremely exhausted Thursday morning at school.

It was during Thursday's lunch hour at school, as she tiredly stumbled to the usual lunch spot, that she bumped into Reizan again. She was walking through the buildings when she literally bumped into someone rushing around the corner... though crashed was a better description of their encounter.

She groaned, before opening her eyes. "Are you okay?" the person she had crashed into said holding out a hand.

"Saitakou-kun!" Taking the hand, she let herself be helped up and asked if Reizan was okay.

"Don't worry about me. When you crashed into me, I was pretty much running so I rammed into you and you fell down. I have to ask again; are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, gomen. I wasn't watching where I was going so I crashed into you."

"It's not your fault. I shouldn't have been running on school campus, not to mention the fact that I also wasn't watching where I was going. I should have paid more attention to my surroundings," he assured her with a smile.

"Still, I should have been more careful. Sorry again for the trouble Saitakou-kun…"

"Really, it's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault… but I'm really not used to everyone calling me by last name. It's quite unlike America, so I'd feel much more comfortable if you just call me Reizan!"

"Sure, if you call me Sakura, Sai- no, Reizan-kun."

"We have a deal then, Sakura-san."

* * *

Around the corner, next to a nearby building, a certain girl was filming everything with her camcorder. Satisfied with the footage, Tomoyo was about to start towards her best friend when someone called out to her.

"Wait up," Rika yelled to Tomoyo. "Sorry about yesterday, I couldn't make it to lunch because… well." Suddenly lost for words, Rika blushed, looking down at the ground.

Tomoyo smiled at her friend and said, "Don't worry. We know Terada-sensei had something important to talk to you about."

Rika looked down, her face still red and said, "I'm sorry I can't tell you more, it's not the right time yet." She then looked back up and said, "But when the time comes, I'll make sure to tell you all about it."

Tomoyo smiled, "It's all up to you, though I can't say I'm not curious. Maybe I'll find out another way," she winked, showing she was only kidding, before she tactfully changed the subject. "Sakura-chan makes friends easily, doesn't she?"

"Yes, she does," Rika smiled, relieved and thankful for the change of subject. "If we don't hurry, she might worry about us, and knowing her, do wear her heart away with her feelings."

"You're absolutely right, so let's go."

* * *

Moments later, laughter filled the air as the friends ate lunch together again.

Looking around, Tomoyo asked Sakura, "Where's Saikatou-kun?"

"Reizan-kun? He said he had an errand to run, something about moving more of his stuff into his new house," Sakura replied before taking a bite out of the sushi her father had packed for her, "Oishii!"

"Reizan-kun? I didn't know you were on a first name basis with him," Tomoyo asked slyly.

Sakura blushed and started to choke on her food and managed to once again breathe after swallowing a gulp of water. "It's not like that Tomoyo-chan, I already have someone I like, remember?"

"I thought it was love, not like, and you still didn't answer my question."

"Don't use my own words against me," Sakura pouted. Slightly angry, she swore to take revenge by torturing her friend, "As to the answer of your question, it's my own little secret."

"Come on Sakura-chan, please do tell!" Tomoyo pleaded.

One look at Tomoyo's face and Sakura's resolve crumbled instantly. She wasn't really mad anyways, "He said that he was uncomfortable with everyone calling him by his last name as the people in America have the custom of calling people by their first. So I agreed and told him to call me by my first name. Even if I feel a bit uncomfortable around him, I still want to be friends with him. He is my next door neighbor after all. I suspect I'll be seeing a lot more of him sooner or lately."

"So that explains it; not so hard, was it?" Tomoyo asked tauntingly.

Sakura pretended to ignore her and attempted to eat another piece of sushi. The two couldn't help but laugh though, when she found the carrot and lettuce combination (1) plucked out of her hands, and straight into the stomach of the pet rabbit that had escaped that morning from the science classroom. Several students who had been looking all morning for it sighed in relief and exhaustion when it was finally returned to its cage.

* * *

_After school at Tomoyo's mansion._

"How does this look, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo and Sakura were busy planning the party and they realized that they had to finish the cards and give all the invitations to their friends by the next day. They were currently in Tomoyo's large bedroom and Sakura couldn't help but notice all the clothes piled on sofas and couches. Pinned to all four of the walls were every costume she had worn during the times when she had been capturing cards. It seemed that Tomoyo hadn't given up on dressing Sakura up because there were several empty spots where large sheets of paper with outfit designs were also pinned on the wall.

"The card design looks great, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura exclaimed, looking at the card. On the front, a lone pink cherry blossom was drifting down a large tree. Over the picture was a sign that read, _"Birthdays are special occasions that are as precious as flowers," _and inside, it read, _"You have been invited to Sakura Kinomoto's birthday party to celebrate her 14th birthday."_ It then continued to list the day, (_Sunday_) the location, (_Daidouji Mansion_) and the time. (_11:00 A.M. to 9:00_ _P.M._)

"Now, to finish the guest list! Who should we invite?" Tomoyo asked.

"Well, we should start with the obvious ones…" Sakura said and wrote a name on the paper they were using for the list: _Fujitaka Kinomoto. _"And while we're at it, let's decide on the adults first!" she continued, enthusiastically writing down_ Sonomi Daidouji_, the name of Tomoyo's mother.

"Anyone else?" Tomoyo asked, looking over Sakura's shoulder who nodded and wrote down _Kaho Mizuki_, the name of the mysterious who had been her brother's childhood lover, the mysterious teacher who taught her at Tomoeda four years ago, and a dear friend to her.

"Next on the list is Yukito-san!" Sakura exclaimed, jotting down _Yukito Tsukishiro._ "Akizuki-chan should be invited too, since Eriol-kun is probably going to come." The name of _Nakuru Akizuki_, on of Eriol's guardians that took the form of a female for her disguise, appeared on the list.

Satisfied with their results, Sakura said, "That should do it for the adults. Let's write down the names of everyone from school next."

She took up the pen again, but before she could press the pen onto the paper Tomoyo cleared her throat and gave her a meaningful look. With a look of disappointment, Sakura sighed and wrote down the dreaded name of _Toya Kinomoto._ Tomoyo hid a grin and then said, "Now everyone else to the list."

_Naoko Yanagasiwa, Rika Sasaki, Chiharu Mihara, _and_ Takashi Yamazaki_ appeared on the guest list. "Should we invite Saitakou-kun?" Tomoyo asked.

Sakura beamed and said, "Sure, the more the merrier!"

"But didn't you say that you wanted a smaller party?" Tomoyo asked as she added _Reizan Saitakou_.

"One more person isn't that big of a difference, is it?" Sakura asked. When Tomoyo shrugged, she took up the pen and said, "And of course, our friends from abroad are invited too!" Sakura added _Eriol Hiiragizawa and Meiling Li _to the list. "How many people is that Tomoyo-chan?"

"That's thirteen people Sakura-chan," Tomoyo replied after counting the list, "but aren't you missing a certain someone?"

"A certain someone…" Sakura muttered then blushed, putting her hand on her head and sheepishly said, "I can't believe I forgot…"

She then wrote down the last and final name to the list, _Syaoran Li_.

* * *

Hours later, as the sky was darkening, the door to Daidouji Mansion opened and a smiling girl popped out the door. "I'll put these in the mail for our overseas guests on my way home. I'll see you tomorrow Tomoyo-chan," Sakura yelled as she left through the large front gates with Tomoyo waving goodbye. She hummed cheerfully to herself as she skipped home, stopping by the familiar red mailbox on the way home. Continuing to smile, she passed a park with many trees. The citizens of Tomoeda aptly named it Penguin Parkafter the huge penguin shaped slide that stood in the middle of a large sandbox. A golden crown sat upon the brow of the King Penguin, which was another name for the penguin slide,and many smaller penguin statues surrounded it, as ifto serve as its subjects. Today, there were no other people around, considering it was already quite late.

Suddenly,Sakura stopped humming and warily looked around. "Is that… a magical presence?" she asked herself under her breath. Sakura kept completely still with the uncomfortable feeling of being watched creeping up her neck, but a quick moment later, the feeling disappeared. Waiting a few seconds longer, she glanced around before quickly continuing on her way. "I must have imagined it," she said aloud and once again cheerfully skipped her way home.

One minute after the cheerful girl had left, the sky above the penguin slide shimmered and a sapphire blue falcon, thelength of a lion from wing tip to wing tip, appeared in midair. A single flap of its large wings made it hover in the air before it perched on the crown of the King Penguin. Its icy blue eyes glittered with intelligence as it peered in the direction where auburn hair slowly drifted away,bobbing up and down as its owner skippedhappily along. The last rays of the sun gave the park a strangely ethereal look created from the different shadows covering the ground. Feathers with a crystal like appearanceadorned the falcon like a royal cape, softly reflecting the sun's light to give it a shimmering appearance. With a final glance at the girl, it grew insubstantial and transparent as it disappeared from view. The only trace of itsexistence was a patch of ice on the crown of the penguin slide, and that too, soon disappeared, as it melted in the warm spring air…

**Notes**

To clear things up in case you're confused, I will be calling Kero, "Kero," when he is in his disguise form, and Keroberos, "Keroberos," when he is in his true form. Do you get it?

1 The carrot and lettuce combination sushi I made up; I doubt it exists. I just used it to make the scene more realistic, because rabbits eat lettuce and carrots.

**Japanese Translations**

Gomen – Sorry

Oishii – Delicious!

**What I changed**

I changed the way the guest list was written because I wanted to add more detail. The conversation between Sakura Tomoyo has also changed to something I feel is more comfortable for me. And lastly; I changed the ending to change it from Chapter 6 part 1 to a whole new chapter entirely.

**Ending Note: **What I changed? I should make a section for it… wait, I did. Look above for the: "What I changed" section. Another thing I would like to note is that the title for this chapter is entirely based on part at the end where I introduce something abnormal that will change our Sakura-chan's life forever.


	6. Chapter 5: The Music of the Heart

**Author's Note: **Strangely, I have nothing important to say…

**Summary: **2 years after the second movie of Card Captor Sakura: The Sealed Card, life seems pretty normal, not including the training Keroberos forces Sakura to do over the summers and the fact that most of her allowance is spent on sending mail to Syaoran who is living all the way back in Hong Kong. However, when magical entities are stirring up inside and around Tomoeda, what will the crew do? Will they take an aggressive stance, run straight into trouble, or somehow figure out a way keep away from disaster?

**A Riot of Surprise**

**Chapter 5: The Music of the Heart**

The days passed by quickly as Sakura and Tomoyo got ready for the party. Even though Summer was getting gradually closer, the temperature started dropping, degree by degree. By lunch on Friday, most students at Tomoeda Junior High had swapped cloaks for dark blue sweaters with the school emblem on the front and the letters "TJH" on the back, the initials of the school. But even if others were shivering from the cold, Sakura didn't notice the sudden drop in temperature, be it for her cheerful and energetic manner or the building excitement she felt whenever she thought of her upcoming birthday that Sunday.

Now, Sakura sat with her hand propped up to support her head as the English teacher droned on and on, reading a novel called the Outsiders aloud to the class in English (1). Even though she wasn't really paying attention to the book, she felt lucky that her life wasn't as horrible as the one described in the story. Her life seemed to be all happy endings; except for the fact that her mother was dead and that she had the responsibility of being the only card mistress in the world.

"Miss Kinomoto, please continue where we left off," the teacher said in English.

"Hai," she replied and started exactly where the teacher had stopped. It seemed she had been paying attention after all… at least partially.

At lunch, Tomoyo and Sakura passed out the invitations to the party. While they asked Tomoyo questions about the party, Sakura snuck away to find Reizan. After a few minutes walking, she heard music drifting from the music room. _Who would be practicing music at lunch?_ Sakura thought as she listened to the beautiful notes of a piano. Concentrating on the music, she slowly walked towards the source. Peaceful and calming music drifted to her ears, but underneath the soothing exterior lay something that Sakura couldn't quite place. It was as if something empty yearned to be filled, as if someone trapped in darkness was trying to find light… any light at all. Even the dim light that comes from a smoking, recently extinguished candle or dimly glowing embers would have been cause for cheers and great joy in the depths of their desperation.

She spotted an open window and peered in, but the open back of the grand piano was blocking her view of the musician's face. From the window, she could just see the black hair of someone sitting at the piano bench, but many people at her school had black hair. _So did Eriol-kun,_ she thought to herself. For a moment, the thought of the possibility of her friend being the one playing the piano filled her mind, but she shook it off, convincing herself that Eriol couldn't have come so quickly in response to her letter.

"Sakura-san?" a voice asked and Sakura realized that she had been too caught up in her thoughts to notice that the music had stopped. She looked up and met depthless jet black eyes. A shiver went up her back at the sight of the empty, soulless eyes before she blinked, and there stood Reizan with a questioning smile on his face. Confused, she was about to reply when she realized that she had never seen the natural color of Reizan's eyes before, and that the eyes that she had seen seemed strangely inhuman. But Reizan's eyes were now filled with energy and seemed to be a dark green, so she brushed it off completely, thinking that her mind was playing tricks on her. And quite suddenly, she realized another thing; Reizan was still waiting for her reply.

She blushed in embarrassment and stammered, saying, "S-Sumimasen! Sumimasen! I-I didn't mean to interrupt you. It was j-just that the music sounded so beautiful and heartfelt…" she trailed off, looking down, still embarrassed from her reaction, or lack thereof, to Reizan.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Reizan chuckled. "In fact, I'm glad you think that what I played was beautiful, but I don't think I am satisfied with it myself. It feels like it's missing something."

"Not satisfied?" Sakura asked.

"That's right," Reizan replied, "I wrote this piece after all."

"Hoe!" Sakura exclaimed. She then frowned when Reizan suddenly burst into laughter. "What's so funny?" she asked.

Reizan finished laughing quickly and maintained a straight face, saying, "I don't think I'll get used that expression of yours. Trademark expression indeed; I've never heard that anywhere before, not even once!"

Sakura blushed with embarrassment, and secretly swore to kill her brother when she got home. She put on a fake smile and said, "Why didn't you come to lunch today?" She put a finger to her lips and then said, "Speaking of which, I don't think you ate lunch yesterday, or the day before that either."

Reizan hesitated for a second before answering, "I guess I'm still not used to the time here in Japan. Since America is halfway across the world, the times are different, which means that I the time we eat here in Japan and back in America are also different. That's why I'm not hungry, but I do seem to have developed a new routine of waking up in the middle of the night feeling extremely hungry. So now you know, but was there something you wanted, Sakura-san?"

Sakura interpreted the pause as embarrassment and nodded to his explanation. A sudden grumble of her stomach reminded her of lunch, and then of what she had decided to do to have her leave her lunch unfinished. Taking out the copy of the invitation she had for Reizan, she handed it to him and explained that her birthday was that Sunday and asked him if he would like to come.

"Of course," he replied with another grin. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

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"Sakura-chan, where have you been?" Tomoyo asked as Sakura ran back to her food and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

Sakura swallowed down some rice before answering, "I gave Reizan-kun the invitation, and he said he would come." After replying, she continued eating as if she had never tasted food before in her entire life. "Where is everyone else?"

"They said something about a permission slip for a school camping trip."

"The one that's coming up in May?"

"I think that's the one," Tomoyo replied. A moment of comfortable silence followed as the two continued to eat, but it was broken when Tomoyo asked, "And…?"

"And what, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Did something happen?" Tomoyo asked intuitively.

"Why would anything have happened?" Sakura asked in confusion.

Checking her digital watch, issued by Daidouji Co., Tomoyo replied, "Well, there is only five more minutes till lunch ends, so that means you were with Saitakou-kun for a long while."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock as she checked her own watch; she had received it as a present for her birthday a year ago from her father and her brother as a combined gift. She crammed some more food into her mouth before talking around her food, "I guess something did happen then." Sakura paused to gulp down her food before she continued, an attentive Tomoyo listening, "I overheard Reizan-kun playing the piano in the music room. He's quite good; as good as Eriol-kun. In fact, I don't think I could tell you who played better. But, there was something strange about the music."

"Strange?" Tomoyo questioned.

Sakura hesitated to think how to word her words before she answered, "The song he played was composed by himself. Though I don't know much about music, I think that the songs that you compose have to do with an emotion that you want to express or are feeling yourself. Otherwise, it would be like lying to yourself."

"I think I understand what you mean, Sakura-chan. But… what does this have to do with why you were there for such a long time?" Tomoyo asked.

"I was getting to that," Sakura replied with a hint of annoyance in her tone. "I stood there, outside the window, listening to his song and I… kind of got caught up in it. But what was strange was the song itself; it sounded empty, or incomplete, as if there could only be darkness and that there was no hope in it ever being complete."

"That sounds like the feeling of being lost, doesn't it?" Tomoyo commented with a pondering look on her face.

"I think it is more than that, but 'lost' is the closest word I can think of for that feeling. Maybe despair could be another, but I'm not sure."

"However you look at it, there seems to be an air of mystery surrounding Saitakou-kun, ne?" A moment of silence followed her words as the two finished up their lunch.

Tomoyo glanced at her watch again and said, "Sakura-chan, lunch is almost over. We should get going to class."

"Yeah, let's go then."

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**Notes**

1 The Outsiders – According to Ponyboy (Main Character), there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser. This classic, written by S. E. Hinton when she was 16 years old, is as profound today as it was when it was first published in 1967. (Summary from Amazon) 

**Japanese Translations**

Sumimasen - Sorry

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**Ending Note: **I'm quite satisfied with how my revision is coming along. Stay tuned for what comes next. Next Chapter: Blizzard Magic


	7. Chapter 6: Blizzard Magic

**Author's Note: **Sorry for being so late to update. This is the revision of the former Chapter Six part two and three. My excuse for being tardy in updating is all because of school. If you need to tell me something (for any reason, though I don't know why you would need to) please do so in the form of a review. Thank you for understanding!

**A Riot of Surprise**

**Chapter 6: Blizzard Magic**

While Sakura's day at school continued on without anymore strange occurrences, the temperature continued to lower until the windows in Sakura's room started frosting at the edges. A certain orange plush toy shaped guardian pondered on the strange behavior of the weather as he sat on the windowsill.

Kero stared up at the heavy black clouds gathering as the cold wind continued to rise in strength. Sakura was still at school for cheerleading practices and the two college students had left early for their shift at the restaurant they worked at part time. That left Kero alone at home, seeing as Sakura's father had been staying at the university he taught at from the beginning of the week. He gave many lectures a week; his students demanding his attention for his popularity at work. He was also currently working on a new dig site, so that explained the question of why he couldn't go home. Although he was busy, he had promised that he would stop by for Sakura's birthday on Sunday.

But deep in thought about the magical auras he had been sensing recently, Sakura's father was the farthest thing from Kero's mind that day. He hadn't told Sakura yet, but he had been getting magical signals at night and even during the day once, when Sakura had been coming home from Tomoyo's mansion. All that reinforced his belief that the coming storm was magical. In fact, he was sure of it. Concerned for her safety, Kero had formulated a plan to make sure that his Card Mistress was safe. Now, all that he could do was wait. It seemed that, for once, he would be sneaking into Sakura's party, not for sweets, but to protect her.

"Be careful, Sakura…"

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It was finally here! For once, Sakura woke up early without any help from alarm clocks or Kero. The days preceding her birthday had passed quickly. She couldn't believe it, but today was her birthday! That meant that she was now officially fourteen. She wasn't sure of any special benefits that came with the age, but she was excited! She changed noisily into the clothes Tomoyo had arranged for her birthday and rushed down the stairs with her bag, not noticing the absence of a certain guardian in her excitement. The addition of a yellow shaped object smuggled in the bottom of her bag was also left unnoticed.

"Ohayo Yuki- Hoe?" Sakura was about to greet Yukito good morning, but her friend was nowhere to be seen. She then mentally scolded herself for forgetting as she remembered that Yukito's grandparents had returned home the day before, and so, Yukito was back to living at his own house.

"Kaijuu, you're up early? Excited about your birthday?" Toya came down the stairs with a yawn and headed towards the kitchen.

"Onii-chan! Can't you make it a good habit to stop insulting me, especially since it's my birthday today? I wish Yukito-san was still here. He would have put you in your place!"

"Whatever Kaijuu. Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes."

"For the last time, I am not a monster!" Sakura yelled back into the kitchen.

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"Thank you for riding the bus," the bus driver told Sakura as she got out of the bus. Walking away from the bus stop, she soon arrived at Daidouji mansion where she rang the bell and waited to be let in. Ten seconds later, she was through the front gates and admiring the beautiful lawn as she walked towards the door.

Yet, she was stopped before she could get within twenty paces of the door, because it suddenly burst open a young woman came running towards her at breakneck speed. "Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo's mother, Sonomi Daidouji, practically screamed before embracing Sakura in a warm hug.

"Hoe!"

"Tomoyo-chan, Sakura is here!" the President of Daidouji Co. announced. Sakura smiled up at her best friend's mother who had the same amethyst eyes as Tomoyo. Her slightly red, dark brown hair reached down to her neck, and she smiled kindly and warmly as they walked toward Tomoyo, who was standing by the open door.

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Inside Tomoyo's room, the two girls finished the final touches for the birthday and collapsed tiredly on the couch inside a dark room that was connected to the bedroom. Tomoyo's viewing room, as she called it had a huge plasma screen television in front of the couch, complete with a stereo system and all the accessories for that particular model made by Daidouji Co.

"Now that you're here Sakura-chan, I'll give you half of your birthday present!" Tomoyo told Sakura as she turned on the television set.

"Half?" Sakura asked as the screen turned on to show… "Hoe! That's me capturing the Fly card! Don't tell me… that this is my gift?"

"Yep, that's right Sakura-chan. Your gift is a special video of your Card Capturing days. It comes in three DVD's. The first one is the Card Captor Sakura: Clow Card Arc. Number two is the Card Captor Sakura: Sakura Cards Arc. And disc number three is… my newest footage, Card Captor Sakura the Movie: The Sealed Card!"

"I think… I need some fresh air…" murmured Sakura, slowly backing away from the overly enthusiastic Tomoyo, stumbling towards the sliding doors that opened to the balcony.

Tomoyo set the three tapes onto a desk nearby. "Keep these tapes safe, Sakura-chan! They'll be worth a lot one day!"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked breathing in cold air out on the balcony.

"You'll see," Tomoyo replied with a sly grin and a gleam in her eye. "The second half of my gift is not yet finished, so please bear with me and wait, alright?"

Suspecting it had something to do with the videos Tomoyo had edited, Sakura couldn't help but shudder. She was luckily excused from replying when the first of the guests arrived.

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The mansion was decorated beautifully as all the guests couldn't help but note and comment. One step into the hallway from the front door and a large banner could be seen hung from the wall. After the guest ducked under it, a bright and colorful sign directed them to the left where they entered a huge room filled with birthday decorations. Bright streamers hung from wall to wall and several tables occupied the space in the center of the vast room. On each of the tables were tags with the names of the guests and a set of silverware, complete with a cup and a comfortable chair instead of the stiff backed ones.

By the start of the party, most of the guest had already arrived… except for two very important guests.

"Where's Syaoran-kun and Meiling-chan?" Sakura demanded Eriol in a private corner, who had arrived an hour before everyone else. "I don't care if you have to see into the future with your abilities as the reincarnation of Clow Reed to find out! Give me an answer!"

Sweating slightly in unease at their position, – with him backed against the wall and Sakura glaring at him – Eriol put on a fake grin and hurriedly assured the panicking girl that they would arrive soon. He calmly straightened his glasses before sighing in relief, dodging out of Sakura's way as the birthday girl demanded of her brother where the two missing guests were.

Tomoyo also sighed as Sakura and Toya started their own private argument about whether or not Syaoran was a 'Chinese gaki.' She hoped for the best, even calling Meiling on her cell phone – which she had gotten from Tomoyo for her birthday – but there was not answer, and lunch came and went with the two still late and missing.

It seemed that sighing had become contagious as Sakura couldn't help but sigh for the tenth time that morning… well, in reality, it was closer to the twenty-second time. Even though she was quite happy that it was her birthday and that all except for two of her friends showed up, she was… disappointed, to say the least.

Suddenly, Sakura's worries were interrupted by an excited yell from Naoko. "It's snowing!"

The eleven guests that had made it, the birthday girl, their host, and the servants helping with the party all crowded around the various windows and sliding glass doors within the house to peer outside at the sky. They were all quite shocked to see that she was right. It was snowing… in the middle of Spring! The snow brought Sakura a memory of the day in the courtyard when Reizan and Yamazaki were making up lies about the sudden drop in temperature.

_Snow...could that story of the blizzard be true?_

"Sakura-san?"

"Hoe?" Sakura nearly jumped as Reizan seemingly came out of nowhere to stand behind her. "S-Sorry, you surprised me Reizan-kun."

Reizan chuckled at her expression and replied, "Don't be sorry. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that, so I should be the one saying that I'm sorry," he paused before he added, "Sorry."

"Not at all!" Sakura exclaimed, "I should have been paying more attention. Lately I've just been getting more and more spaced out…" Her mind started spinning again but the thoughts were scattered when Reizan suddenly laughed.

"Haha… I'm sorry, it's just that we always seem to be blaming ourselves and apologizing every time something relatively trivial happens. How alike we are in that sense: apologizing airheads… at least I am."

There was a moment of awkward silence before they both started laughing. The clock rang three times to signal the time. The two, smiling, returned to the main room where most of the guests were watching the news.

"_And now here's our weather forecast. It seems a blizzard is brewing tonight, but meteorologist are all confused as to where it came from. Seemingly forming out of nowhere, flights all over Tomoeda are being delayed and there is already a layer of snow a foot deep."_

Everyone looked outside worriedly at the snow. They had been planning on playing some sports outside earlier that day… but it had started snowing. Now, Sakura was even more worried, but also felt relieved that Syaoran and Meiling had an excuse for being over four hours late. Without anything to do, the group cast a vote to decide what they were going to do to pass the time. A moment after the votes had been counted, the doorbell rang.

Running to the front of the mansion, Sakura, hoping that it signaled the arrival of her two missing guests, and Tomoyo, acting like a good host should, were the first to greet two late, soaked and shivering guests standing at the front door. They were quickly ushered in where a fire had been started in the fireplace after the snow had first started falling. Sakura embraced Syaoran and wouldn't let go, murmuring things like how she was worried, how much she had missed him, and how he was an idiot. Syaoran hugged her back, comforting her and the two were lost in a separate dimension from the others inhabiting the room.

They realized that they were in front of everyone else, only when an extremely annoyed older brother of one Sakura cleared his throat and started glaring at his eternal enemy: Syaoran. The two blushed when they realized everyone was watching with varying degrees of amusement… Everyone had smiles except for Toya, who of course, was still glaring the words 'die' and 'get away from my sister' at Syaoran, who, in return, pointedly ignored him, purposely tightening his grip around Sakura.

After introductions for Reizan's benefit were made, Tomoyo had a 'special' announcement to make. "May I have your attention please?" Satisfied that everyone was looking at her, she continued, "Today is Sakura's 14th birthday so why don't we start with a round of the infamous song which every birthday includes?"

Laughing, everyone sang Happy Birthday to Sakura who squirmed uneasily, blushing under her star covered birthday hat. Then, everyone separated to talk and the group formed up to play Truth or Dare, which was the winner of the almost unanimous votes.

"Come on, let's go Syaoran-kun," Sakura urged, dragging a reluctant amber eyed boy with chocolate colored hair.

"S-Sakura, you're practically dragging me!" Syaoran called, trying to slip out of Sakura's iron grip hold.

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Syaoran Li

Age: 14 (Turned 14 on July 13th)

Grade: 8th Grade at Hua Long Private School ('Fire Dragon' Private School)

Physical characteristics: Messy chocolate hair / Amber eyes

Eligibility: Taken

Love Interests: Sakura Kinomoto

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"That's the point Syao-kun," she replied as Tomoyo filmed, Reizan and Eriol smiled, and Meiling giggled.

"Come on Meiling, you're not getting out of this," Syaoran called to his cousin.

"But I don't feel like…" About to protest, Meiling was silenced with a glare from Syaoran. "Hai, Hai," she murmured resignedly with a sigh.

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Meiling Li

Age: 14 (Turned 14 on March 25th)

Grade: 8th Grade at Hua Long Private School ('Fire Dragon' Private School)

Physical characteristics: Long black hair in pigtails / Amber eyes

Eligibility: Single

Love Interests: None

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Tomoyo then turned to Reizan and Eriol, the only two left and nodded to Eriol with a sinister gleam in her eyes. With a similar sinister gleam in his eyes, Eriol turned to Reizan and said, "Come on Saitakou-kun, newcomers don't get a choice in choosing to play or not."

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Eriol Hiiragizawa (A.K.A. the **Full** Reincarnation of Clow Reed) (_In this fic, **everything** is taken from the anime version of CCS._)

Age: 14 (Turned 14 on March 23rd)

Grade: 'Graduated' (Not attending school because the memories and books gained from Clow Reed are more than enough for him to teach himself.)

Physical characteristics: Short black hair / Piercing sapphire eyes

Eligibility: Single

Love Interests: None

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"That's right! If you really want to fit in with us, you'll have to participate more."

"F-Fit in? Wh-What are you talking about?" Reizan asked as Eriol and Tomoyo dragged him into the room.

Everyone joined the game except for Fujitaka Kinomoto (Sakura's Father), who was talking to Kaho Mizuki (A close friend of Sakura who was once a teacher at Tomoeda Elementary School). Toya also elected to stay out of the game, but couldn't persuade Yukito to "act more mature." Sonomi had an important business deal on the phone so she couldn't join in.

"Truth or Dare, Sakura-chan?" Naoko asked as the game started. They had decided that she would start for lack of a better way to decide.

"Tr-Truth," Sakura stammered, not sure what Naoko had in mind.

A wicked grin came upon Naoko's face as she said, "Other than ghosts, what are you most afraid of?"

"That's not too bad." Sakura thought for a second, and then said "Onii-chan…"

Silence filled the room – the calm before the storm – before everyone started laughing. Toya choked on his soda which made the others laugh even more. Sakura cowered as her brother's infamous death glare landed on her. In a panic, she blurted out, "I-I meant onii-chan being serious." Everyone laughed even harder at that comment, and blushing furiously, she tried to make amends one last time, "B-but, if he stopped teasing me, I would know that there must be something wrong with him! It happened once when I was sick! Besides, it's in his nature to be annoying… isn't it…?" She trailed off and looked down sheepishly as the laughter grew uncontrollable.

"T-Toya, see wh-what I meant ab-about your bad 'habit,'" Yukito managed to say even as he laughed.

"Shut up Yuki!" Toya replied, flames in his eyes. _You're going to die little sister, die I tell you, DIE! I'll drown you under insults and teasing if it's the last thing I do!_

As the laughter died down, Sakura picked out the next victim of Truth or Dare. "Reizan-kun," Syaoran's ears perked up and the flames of jealousy started up as he noticed his girlfriend use Reizan's first name. "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," he replied with a sigh. He really didn't want to play this game…

"Alright then," Sakura started, "I dare you to… to… cook okonimyaki later for lunch tomorrow!"

"Eh?" Naoko, Chiharu, and Rika exclaimed.

"What?" Sakura asked in response, rather uncomfortably.

"Is that even possible for a dare?" Meiling asked.

"Speaking of dares, during the Renaissance period in England, all the new inventions were the result of dares. In fact, the great Michelangelo's great works were mainly creations of the result of dares, his creativity earning him the title as the most famous of the Renaissance of Dares," Yamazaki lied.

"In fact, your lie just earned you an early death," Chiharu replied, strangling him with her hands yet again.

Eventually, the spotlight landed on Tomoyo and she readily picked Syaoran, "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," he replied, relatively unconcerned with what would happen next… he should have been.

Tomoyo smiled and said, "I dare you and Sakura to go up to the library room."

"That's all?" he asked, and inkling of suspicion beginning to form."

"That's all," Tomoyo repeated, "But I would be lying if I said there wasn't a catch."

Eriol grinned to himself. Over the past few years, after the four had met, Eriol had gotten to know Tomoyo a bit better and had been surprised by what he had seen. Through Sakura's invites to various occasions, he had seen more than one side of Tomoyo, due to the fact that Tomoyo insisted that Sakura and Syaoran have their… moments together which she would proceed to film, sometimes dragging him with her for no better reason than to have an excuse if she was found out. The activities mentioned included camping trips, skiing trips, and amusement parks; all during the summer of course. Once, they even planned and executed a surprise trip to England, where the three of them expected him to give them the grand tour of London and free lodging at his house. That one was quite a headache with noise coming from Kero even during the night. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep until Sakura locked Kero inside of a cupboard so they could shut out his hyperactivity from eating too many sweets, though he denied that he was acting too hyper with an insane giggle.

He looked back up to see what his friend's reactions would be to the dare to find them gone, presumably up the stairs, but it was not to be. "Hiiragizawa-san, help me drag Syaoran up the stairs! He should have known something like this would happen if he chose dare!"

_There she goes again,_ Eriol thought, referring to the almost maniacal Tomoyo who was rounding up the help of… everyone available (Chiharu, Yamazaki, Rika, Naoko, Meiling, and herself), to capture Syaoran who had wisely chosen to run once Tomoyo mentioned a catch. The reason Eriol hadn't spotted Sakura at first, who was arguing with her brother again, was because of the whirl of movement around him, as people struggled to catch Syaoran who was using the tables and couches spread across the room to his advantage. Eriol sighed and got up to help, though he was sure they didn't need it. Six people on one is really more than enough… isn't it? _Make that seven,_ Eriol thought resignedly to himself as he joined the chase.

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Once inside the Library, Sakura and Syaoran immediately found that they were locked in from the outside. They looked around and found the room filled with books lining three walls. The remaining wall was actually a huge glass door that opened onto a large balcony. Above, the ceiling seemed far, far away and the bookshelves reached all the way to the top. After checking and finding out that it was also locked, they turned around and noticed a piece of paper on the lone wood table in the middle of the large room. It read:

_If you are reading this, that means that the stopwatch has started and you have 5 minutes to find one book in this unorganized library. If you don't, you will be locked in this room until the others and I deem to release you. Hidden cameras have been installed in this room so don't plan on doing anything crazy. To finish this challenge, find the book and hold it up so that we can see the title clearly. Remember, we're watching you. With regards, - Tomoyo Daidouji_

_P.S. The book is titled, Pro Tips for Filming and Editing Videos._

Sakura and Syaoran looked warily around for the hidden cameras to no avail. They managed to sigh at the same time and started their search resignedly. How they would find that one book out of the millions along the walls, they didn't know. Why bother, one might ask, since the two enjoyed each other's limited company so very much, though they rarely openly showed it. The answer was, even though they didn't mind being together, they didn't feel like being filmed for hours nonstop, which would be exactly what Tomoyo would do. And so, they headed for the books and looked them over. Unfortunately, before they could even reach the shelves, the glass door to the balcony shattered bringing a cold wind and snow swirling into the room. Downstairs, the feed from the hidden cameras unexpectedly stopped and the only things the ones eagerly looking could see was static.

A few seconds after the screens were blinded by static, the power shut off. The house plummeted into darkness. A few screams filled the silence, but their owners quickly calmed down. Meeting each other's eyes in the dark, Tomoyo and Eriol nodded toe each other and slipped away from the group, running upstairs towards the Library. Moments after their departure, another shadow detached itself from the group and followed them a fair distance behind. No one noticed the three's departure a moment later when some of the servants lit candles in the room for some light.

Back in the library room, Sakura and Syaoran faced the gale force winds that suddenly blasted into them and the books behind, ripping the heavy objects from the shelves towards them and scattering ripped pages on the floor. Snow from the blizzard piled in quickly and Sakura and Syaoran could do nothing, believing that their secret would be found out if they used magic. But if they didn't hurry, they would be buried alive in the room.

"Sakura! Come over here!" Syaoran yelled to Sakura who was halfway across the room. They struggled through the growing snow that reached their knees and managed to reach each other. They then heard a banging from the door and they heard Tomoyo's voice, "Are you guys alright in there? We have no idea what's going on and the door is locked so please hang in there! We can't hear you either! The power's down!"

"Did you hear that?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura nodded and added, "They can't hear or see us, so that means we can use our magic!" Syaoran nodded and Sakura pulled out the key necklace that she wore every single day. It had a star in the center surrounded by a circle. As she held it out in front of her, a glowing circle, that had a star in the center with a moon on one side and a sun on the other, appeared underneath her feet. "_The key which hides the powers of the stars, show your true form before me! I, Sakura, command you under our contract! Release!"_

As she spoke the last words, the key enlarged and lengthened into the perfect fit for her hands. Then, she stopped. "A-no… I left my cards at my house. What are we going to do?" Sakura asked, starting to panic.

Syaoran looked at her sheepishly and added, "I left my sword back in Hong Kong!"

"We're doomed!" Sakura sobbed as the snow slowly rose in the room. Just then, a new voice interrupted her despair.

"Sakura!" Keroberos yelled as he flew into the room from the shattered window, and in hands was the Sakura Card Book.

"Kero-chan? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked as she caught the book in her arms.

"Never mind about that, hurry up and get out of here. Follow me outside!"

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"Hiiragizawa-kun, what's happening?" Tomoyo asked, looking uncomfortably at the snow covered window at the end of the hallway.

"Magic," he replied noncommittally.

"Can't you do something to help them?" Tomoyo asked, concerned for the welfare of her two friends.

"I would if someone wasn't coming up the stairs right now," he replied, and to his words, Reizan appeared, apparently very concerned.

"Are they alright?" he asked.

Eriol thought of his sudden appearance as very convenient to whoever had sent the storm and broken the glass (for he had already known that the snow bringing clouds were magic), but he couldn't be suspicious of anyone just because they stopped him from using his magic. So, he turned to Reizan and answered, "They should be, the door is jammed and we can't get inside." Reizan nodded, though unconvinced. Tomoyo tried to distract him from the corridor, but he said he would wait there with them and see if he couldn't help them get into the library. Eriol shrugged to Tomoyo and more seriously murmured to himself, "It's up to you to figure this out yourself, Sakura."

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Sakura gaped at her Guardian, but shook off her shock as another cold gust of wind swept snow into her face. "A-Alright," she yelled at the retreating plush toy. Whipping out a card from the Book of Cards and throwing it in front of her, she brought her wand down onto the card and yelled out, "Float!" And with that, Sakura and Syaoran were enveloped in a pink bubble and floated until their feet were securely resting on the top of the snow that had been threatening to reach their chests a moment later. Soon, the snow had risen so much that they were dangerously nearing the ceiling. Afraid of being crushed they ran out of the room, still supported by The Float's magic, outside to find the world covered in snow. Nothing but snow could be seen. The blizzard had poured out so much snow that only the tops of the highest buildings showed, like the school's bell tower and Daidouji mansion's roof.

"Over here," a new figure yelled out. Yellow dilated eyes peered at them from a lion's face with a ruby adorning its forehead. What could pass for a mane looked like a headpiece of sorts and a similar designed chest plate had also been inset with another ruby; though of course, of greater size. The lion-like creature had large white wings that nicely added to and finished its mythological look.

"Hoe! Ke-Kero-chan?" Sakura exclaimed in surprise. She had never been able to comprehend how a tiny figure like her gluttonous but relatively cute Kero-chan could turn into a serious looking, large lion.

The beast snorted and replied, as if reading her mind, "Of course it's me Sakura. Get used to my true form by now!"

"Sorry," she replied but was cut off by Syaoran.

"Stop wasting time, we need to find a way to stop this blizzard and melt the snow."

"That's going to be a problem," Keroberos stated with and indignantly glare as he stared into the clouds. "This blizzard was created by magic and the only way to stop it is to beat it with magic more powerful than its creator, but I'm afraid that is nearly impossible considering…"

"Considering what?" Syaoran all but yelled.

"Considering that this anonymous sorcerer has the power to interrupt the power of The Dream."

"What?" both young magicians yelled at the same time, "How is that possible and how do you know?"

"Don't ask me; I have no idea how it is possible, but - Wait, it's coming!"

And with those words, the wind force increased and threatened to blow away Sakura and Syaoran, even though they were being carried by The Float. Realizing that they needed to do something, Sakura whipped out another card and chanted, "Melt the layers of ice to reveal the warmth of life beneath, Fiery!" Out of the card came a torrent of fire and out of it appeared an arrogant looking boy with wings of fire. With a snap of its fiery wings, flames spread from his raised palms in all directions. The snow seemed to melt a little and even the clouds seemed to cower from this show of power, but all of a sudden, the flames were snuffed out by sleet and violent winds that buffeted the group. Gale force winds once again attacked, and with its overwhelming power, sent The Fiery straight into the ground. The area of snow in which it hit evaporated in steam but quickly refroze, trapping the flaming boy. Reluctantly and with a feeling akin to panic, Sakura tried to call back the card... but it was trapped and couldn't escape the ice holding it down, even with magic. Concernedly, she struggled against the wind to reach the card.

"See what I meant? She doesn't have to power at her currently level, but…" Keroberos trailed off, muttering to himself.

Syaoran watched Sakura's struggles with concern, struggling himself to reach her, but blades of ice had decided to fly their way. He was too busy evading the shards to reach Sakura. Instead, he decided to comment to Keroberos, "Are you so sure that it is impossible? I thought you were one to protect his master no matter what. Don't think, do. If there's nothing you can do, find something else! Besides, if it really was hopeless, we wouldn't be here right now. Fiery has the power, we just have to do something about the wind!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he reached into his pocket, taking out a paper with Chinese letters written on it. He had not been lying when he said he hadn't brought the magical sword that was the passed down to the heirs of the Li Clan in each generation, but that didn't mean he come completely unprepared. But Keroberos refused to see hope, still intent on thoughts that he didn't think to share with his Mistress's friend.

"Ofuda won't work without your sword, boy," Keroberos commented dryly to Syaoran.

"Then let me show you that my training for the past two years has not gone to waste!" Syaoran shot back as he chanted, "_Emperor of Fire, Eastern Tower of Strength, Core of Magma, Unleash the raging flames of your domain and lay waste to thy enemy! God of Fire, Answer My Call! Flames; Descend!"_

Near the end of his incantation, Syaoran threw the slip of paper high into the air, and at his final words, the ofuda glowed bright red and burned up, its ashes unnoticed in the phenomenon that followed. The clouds burst open and were scattered as a pillar of fire descended from the sky and quickly melted the snow in a circle around them, guarding them momentarily from the icy blizzard and powerful wind. Keroberos looked at him with a calculating gaze, partly to hide the awe that managed not to show on his face. He had known that he had been training his magic as a requirement from the Li Clan, yet he had not known that he had improved so much since he had last seen him. The enormous increase in magical power he saw in Syaoran was almost impossible in this present day and age. Where had he found the motivation to train for so long, or even find an acceptable training partner for that matter?

Using this moment of respite, Syaoran raced over to Sakura, who had reached the still trapped, but struggling Fiery. "Hurry Sakura; use Fiery to beat back this blizzard!" he told her.

"But, it didn't work!" Sakura replied dejectedly, "I know everyone is depending on me, but…"

"Don't worry! I know you can do it. This is nothing compared to that one time when that annoying Hiiragizawa trapped you at the school with all those snowmen throwing snowballs at you? You got out of that one easily. What about when you captured The Snow with Fiery? Believe in yourself, because you can beat this overgrown wind, and remember; I, and Daidouji and even Hiiragizawa, believe in you!"

Sakura murmured to herself, "I'll definitely be alright." Then, she nodded to Syaoran and whispered, "Thank you." She turned her attention to The Fiery, and silently asked, _Lend me your power so that I may save my friends and drive back this new enemy!_ "Flames filled with power, gather your energy and unleash your wrath against the ice which binds you down. Release the power locked within and burn with the sun's might! Fiery!" Pouring in all of her strength she sent her magical energy towards the trapped card.

With the power of its master, the area around the flaming boy grew stifling with the heat and its body started glowing with a white hot intensity. The light was so bright that Sakura and the others had to cover their eyes with their hands (wings for Keroberos). When they looked again, they had to squint to peer through the light, and what they saw made them gasp in awe. Where there had once been the form of boy with burning orange wings, a tall man stood passively holding a long staff made of fire. With the staff was as long as he was tall, around seven feet in length, and ended in a circle at very top, with twelve points along the outside edge like a sun. The bottom of the staff sported a ruby at the bottom. A red sphere floated in between the two ends made by the sun-circle at top end.

Aside from the impressive long red robes this new being was clothed in, it also had wings sprouted from its back, but these wings were much larger than Fiery's original wings, and each wingspan doubled the length of Sakura's wand. With a confident grin to Sakura, the man raised the staff and brought it back down into the snow. Fire exploded from its topmost tip into the clouds and red cracks formed in the snow, melting wide swaths through the white sheet covering the town. In a matter of seconds, it had melted everything away and Tomoeda was once again exposed to the, now calm, sky.

As the clouds disappeared to reveal a gleaming full moon, the tall man was enveloped in another flash of searing, bright white light. From the light, a card drifted towards its exhausted master. Glancing over The Fiery and realizing that nothing had changed, Sakura sighed and collapsed fast asleep. She fortunately landed onto Syaoran who looked at her in his arms with a light blush and a mixture of wonder and awe. Something they overlooked, however, was that with the magic drained out of her, Sakura's command of the Float card collapsed and the pink bubble disappeared. As they started to fall to the ground, Keroberos managed to catch them before they crashed from with force from the acceleration gained from falling twenty feet to the ground. As they flew back down behind a tree to hide themselves from view, something gleamed in the sky before a golden object fell towards the trio and landed softly in the sleeping girl's hand.

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_The birthday party ended a bit early due to the unexpected events that happened. The story that was told was that Sakura and Syaoran managed to climb down from the balcony of the Library though the guests knew that the snow had been twenty feet high at the time. No one contradicted their story however, because when they started to leave, there were no traces of snow on the ground. With varying degrees of confusion, the guests piled out the door. Sakura was taken back to her house by Toya and her father while Syaoran, Meiling, and Eriol tagged along. After leaving Sakura gently in her bed, they sat worriedly in the living room while Syaoran and Keroberos told the story. Next door, a strange thing was happening…_

"Master," a voice said in the darkness of a living room with the light of the moon spilling from two open windows. "Master," the voice said again; not a question, but rather a statement. The voice continued with the permission given from an unseen signal. "They have managed to live past the first test. Though pitiful in the beginning, they survived with a brilliant display of power.

A moment of silence passed before a voice responded, "Since they have so easily passed this first test of their skills, bring them a message from me tomorrow."

"I understand, Master. I shall meet them tomorrow."

"See to it my Messenger," the voice confirmed. "Meanwhile, let's start the preparations for the next test."

"Then I take my leave," the Messenger replied. A soft crack followed the words and the temperature dropped sharply, coldness seeping into the room. In a half-joking, half-serious tone, the voice added in a whisper as its owner left, "Good luck, O Heartless Condemner…"

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**Japanese Translations**

Ohayo – Good Morning

Kaijuu – Monster

Onii-chan – Older Brother

Gaki – Brat; Derogatory term for a kid

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**Ending Note: **What you need to know is that, from this point on, much of the story is going to change (adding smaller side plots in) but I'm mainly going to just edit out typos and some of the contradicting parts of the major chapters, which are most likely those with two or three parts. There will be no more parts one twos, or threes for multiple sectioned chapters, unless the chapter is exceedingly long for my standards. AND once again, thank you for understanding.


	8. Chapter 7: Messages and Explanations

**Author's Note: **Chapter Seven of my first fan fiction is now up as you can see/read. Thank you for choosing this as your reading material: enjoy.

**A Riot of Surprise**

**Chapter 7: Messages and Explanations**

_**I've had this dream before…**_

_A ripple formed from a drop of water that broke the surface of what was suddenly a pond. The resulting splash triggered more ripples until the water was filled with moving waves that grew until it crashed over Sakura's view. _

_The scene changed as she heard a whistle from the wind that blew over the green grass of a large field. The peacefulness shattered as the wind changed from a breeze to a gale that flattened the grass and wiped clean the world from view._

_A hiss of thunder found its way to Sakura's ear as the sky lighted up before a boom resounded in the air. Thunder shot down from dark foreboding clouds that hovered over the peaceful images of the pond and grass from scenes past. Bolts shot down into the ground, igniting the world into flames._

_Crackles from small flames quickly grew into roars of hunger as the raging fire devoured all of its surroundings. _

_**What is it supposed to mean…?**_

"_The end…" a voice replied…_

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_At the Kinomoto's house._

Sakura sat up away from the welcoming warmth of the sheets covering her bed, looking around to see familiar yellow walls. She then looked around to see… no one. _That's strange; I thought I heard a voice! _Sakura thought to herself.

Just then, the door opened and her brother and father walked in followed by Syaoran, Meiling, Eriol, and Yukito.

Toya spoke first in a strangely serious voice, "Sakura, are you alright?"

"I'm not a mon- wait… 'Are you all right?'" Sakura exclaimed, "Is there something wrong?" She stared confusedly as the group shared distressed looks before turning solemnly back towards her, "What's the matter?" she asked, "Did something happen?"

"Sakura…" Meiling started hesitantly. "Do you remember anything about yesterday?"

"Yesterday…" she pondered for a moment and then slowly shook her head.

"Maybe this will remind you," Eriol said, holding up a gleaming golden triangular shaped object. She blinked once and then gasped out loud. "The magical blizzard and Fiery changed! What happened? Strangely, I can't remember much after that…"

"It's just as I thought," a cold voice murmured. Sakura looked towards where Yukito should have been standing to see a tall angelic being with long silvery hair and icy blue eyes staring at her. "The amount of magic she used was too much for her body to handle so it shut down her body to protect her mind."

"Yue-san!" Sakura exclaimed in shock.

The man with wings nodded to her and asked, "Have you seen Keroberos around, Sakura?"

She slowly shook her head, "I just woke up and I don't remember anything except after Kero-chan caught us in mid-air. Why, isn't he somewhere around here?"

"I'm afraid not," Eriol replied.

"His magical presence has disappeared too, the good for nothing…" Syaoran added but was cut off by a quick jab from Meiling's elbow. Meiling gave him a dangerous look when he was about to protest her actions and sighed at his tactlessness.

Sakura tried to reassure the others that Kero was alright and somewhere around but she trailed off when she spotted something on the desk. "A letter!" she exclaimed, startling the others until they too saw the folded paper on the table. Sakura looked over the letter quickly before silently passing the letter over to Syaoran who read aloud…

"_Sakura," _

"_If you are reading this then that means that I either haven't returned from my task or that something has happened to me. Now don't be rash and read very carefully what comes next. First, make sure everyone else understands this: do not, under any circumstance, try to find me. Protect the Sakura Cards in case they are the enemies' true target and stay alert. If this magical force is truly dangerous it will probably attack your source of power: your cards. Don't worry about me; I'll probably finish my task or find a way to escape trouble soon enough. I'll be expecting two cakes as payment! Until we meet again."_

It was signed, _Keroberos._

The group fell in silence, absorbing the words from the letter. Eriol spoke up first, "I think we should listen to what Keroberos-" and was rudely interrupted by the shattering of the window. Sakura screamed in shock and was pulled to the side by Syaoran before shards of glass impaled the spot where she had been standing a second before. Sakura raised her head from Syaoran's chest and breathed a sigh of relief; the others were all safe.

"Is everyone alright?" Yue asked dropping the barrier he had raised to protect the three non-magic mortals behind him. Everyone nodded to his question but they were still too shocked to speak.

Then, Sakura spotted a sapphire gem on the ground and picked up, wincing as a rather sharp edge cut her finger. A single drop of blood fell onto the smooth surface of the gem which immediately triggered a reaction. As the blood hit the gem it produced a bright blue luminous glow that filled the room and the sapphire split open and dissolved into fine blue dust in Sakura's hand. An unnatural wind filled the room and blew the remains of the gem into the air and out the broken window leaving a letter in her hand. "What's this?"

With Syaoran peering over her shoulder and the six others in the room uneasily listening she read the second letter she had received that day…

"_To the Card Mistress of the Cards,"_

"_I trust that my message has arrived at the right place and that you are now reading this. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Card Mistress, and I hope you have not been embittered by the test I arranged for you on April 1st. I am aware that you are now fourteen years of age and that this year is your last at Tomoeda Junior High. Now, I formally dispense of all pleasantries to inform you that you will not be able to enjoy your last year of Junior High in peace. Unfortunately, magicians can not waste time in dealing with others of the same kind who are not aware of their position in society. This is your explanation and warning. _

"_I am the Condemner assigned to test you, Sakura Kinomoto, Master of the Cards, Wielder of the Stars, and whose Guardians are Keroberos the Sun and Yue the Moon. You have probably already figured this out: you are not the only magician in this world. It is true that you are the only existing Card Mistress but certainly not the only magician. Now before I give away more than I need to, I'll tell you this; prove to me your strength is sufficient enough for you to do as you like and I shall leave you alone, but if you fail the test… then your memories of magic and your powers will be easily stripped away from you, even with the blessing of Clow Reed imparted upon you._

_Your first test will be soon. Seeing as how the Guardian of the Sun is currently indisposed right now, the next test shall concern only you and the Guardian of the Moon. Until we meet again…_

"_And please, don't think too harshly of me."_

"There's no signature," Sakura added impassively. Her voice and face a mask that showed no emotion but she was raging internally. _How dare this… Condemner, threaten me like this?_

"A magician's society…" Syaoran murmured. Sakura looked up from the letter and saw a hint of a smirk forming on Syaoran's face, "Who needs that? It's not like anything has happened lately that we would even need such a thing."

"And that's where you're wrong," Eriol contradicted. "There have been happenings that you, at your level of power, haven't been able to notice, dear Syaoran."

Syaoran glared at him and asked, "What happenings haven't I been able to notice, Hiiragizawa?"

"Calm down, Syaoran," Meiling interrupted the beginnings of a fight. "Now's not the time for this. What we should be doing is trying to understand all of what's going on."

"She has a point, gaki," Toya spoke up.

Syaoran switched his glare from Eriol, to Meiling, to Toya and opened his mouth to shoot back a retort but the touch of a hand on his shoulder made him stop. "Syaoran…" Sakura said. Outnumbered four to one, all Syaoran could do was sigh and plop down on the bed earning a scowl form Sakura.

"I'll leave you kids to your discussion then," Fujitaka said and headed towards the door. Before he left however, he said, "Sakura, you know that whatever happens I'll be here for you, right?" Then, he left at Sakura's beaming smile.

The room was quiet in an uncomfortable silence following Fujitaka's departure, that is, until Sakura asked a question that had also been on her brother's mind, "Syaoran-kun, Meiling-chan, why are you still here? Won't you miss your flight?"

Meiling shuffled uncomfortably in her dirty clothes and said, "The thing is, we already missed it. We were supposed to go back to Japan yesterday evening because we had school today."

"But don't worry," Syaoran added. "We already called home and Mother gave us permission to stay here."

"Stay here? So that means you're not going back to Hong Kong?"

"That's right! As an ally of the Li clan, we are obligated to protect you and are responsible for your safety!" Meiling chirped.

"But you really shouldn't have forced Mother to let you stay," Syaoran murmured but quickly became sullenly quite when Meiling elbowed him in the stomach and stomped on his foot.

"Since when have I been an ally of the Li clan?" Sakura pondered, settling herself on her bed next to Syaoran who was quietly holding in a cry of pain.

"Since Syaoran came back to Hong Kong after you sealed the Nothing and Auntie forced the Elders to approve of you," Meiling replied with a subtle hint that everyone in the room caught.

Syaoran and Sakura blushed as one and at the same time Toya erupted in anger, "That's it, get away from my sister, Gaki. I've said it now and I'll say it again; I don't approve of this brat! I don't care who says what; you two are not going to be dating if I have any say in it!"

"Well that's nice, isn't it?" Sakura shot back, "You don't have a say in it and I don't need your permission, so you really can't complain, can you?"

Toya was silent in anger for a moment before he decided to change his strategy, "If it doesn't matter what I say then so be it. But I'll ask you this; has Gaki here sent you any letters recently?"

"Now, now Toya," Yukito interrupted, shocking Sakura (Hoe!) to end with his sudden transformation. "Didn't you shred the last two letters that arrived in the mail for Sakura-chan from Li-kun?" Yukito inquired. "Don't lie to get yourself off the hook."

"What?" Syaoran and Sakura yelled at the same time. "So that's why Sakura seemed mad in the reply she sent me!" Syaoran, "So that's why I didn't get a letter?" and Sakura practically screamed.

Toya, feeling the danger switched to the role of overprotective brother and sputtered, "Sakura, I'm doing this to protect you!"

Syaoran sent a death glare at Toya as Sakura continued the argument, "I don't need your protection! I have Syaoran-kun." She smiled sweetly at Syaoran. A moment later, Toya met face to face with death as Sakura glared him down, "Besides, I don't need protection from him; I need protection from overprotective brothers who don't know what's good for them."

A vein popped in Toya's head as he glared at them all, mumbling how unfair it was that everyone plotted against him earning chuckles from Meiling and smiles form Eriol and Yukito. He was about to walk out the door when a voice commented from the doorway, "Kinomoto-san, life is unfair as you should know by now." And in came Tomoyo in her school uniform with what but a camera in her hand. "Now please stop yelling at Sakura or else I will have to resort to using this kawaii footage of your loss in this argument as blackmail."

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura cried out.

"Good afternoon Sakura-chan, and don't worry about school. I told them you had a cold and couldn't come to school today."

"Arigato, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura exclaimed with a big smile. Toya left soon after saying something about finishing up homework and dragged Yukito after him.

Eriol silently and amusedly watched the whole scene without comment. When the others went downstairs for some refreshment, he stayed behind in Sakura's room and picked up the golden object lying on her table. His eye's narrowed as he stared at the double-pointed jigsaw shaped object and muttered, "And so it begins…"

A few hours later, dinner was served. They had managed to avoid the uncomfortable subject that had been conquered by light hearted laughter but it was still the one thing they couldn't get out of their mind. Tomoyo had gasped but then comforted Sakura when she had heard of the letter and Kero's disappearance. "Don't worry; Sakura-chan. Kero-chan will be fine; he'll probably finish whatever he's doing quickly and come back in a few days. When he gets back, call me and I'll make the two cakes that were promised." Sakura only smiled and stared at the stairs that led up to her room.

After dinner, Tomoyo said that her mother must be worried so she had to leave. Syaoran and Meilin also left, mentioning that they had to pick up their butler, Wei, who would be arriving on the next flight. They also said something about an apartment in Tomoeda but Sakura was too preoccupied to totally understand what it meant. Finally, that left Toya, Yukito, and Eriol after they cleaned all the dishes. Sakura's father excused himself and went to his room to finish up the lecture he was presenting the next day. Just because he knew about the events that were happening and also worried didn't mean that he didn't have a job to do.

"Yue, please show yourself again," Eriol said in a strangely calm, cold, and calculating voice.

Yukito's eyes closed and wings sprouted from his back, enveloping his whole body. The white 'shell' of sorts floated in the air as a magical circle appeared underneath the floating object. When the wings opened once again, there stood Yue.

"Sakura, I know you are tired and that it is growing late, but I have something I need to speak to you and Yue about." He then looked at Toya with unreadable sapphire eyes. "I'm sorry Kinomoto-san, will you please excuse us?"

Toya, in a strangely calm and cooperative mood merely nodded and went upstairs to his room. When Eriol heard the door close, he continued, "Sakura, Yue, you remember everything that was relayed to us by the letter, correct?" He waited for them to nod, then said, "Then you'll remember that the next test involves only the two of you: the Card Mistress and the Guardian of the Moon. That means that he or she, whoever this magician is, will be targeting both of you, so be on guard and stay close together. For now, let's assume this magician is male for the sake of conversation.

"Also, you must know that this magician is no idle threat. He has good information; he knows where you are at all times of the day as you are only home or at school on normal days. Also, he knows about Keroberos's disappearance, though that could be either because he has done something to him or just has a reliable source of information. Finally, what is most dangerous about him is that we know close to nothing about this magician; all we really do know is that he has enormous power as he proved to us yesterday and that brings us to our next topic. The Fiery; Keroberos and Li-kun told us about yesterday's incident before the Guardian's disappearance including the Fiery's transformation. Do you remember anything special that you did that might be a reason for its transformation, Sakura?"

Sakura hesitated, before saying, "I asked Fiery to lend me its powers and to keep you guys safe. After that, I felt suddenly tired, as if something was being drained out of me… I think that was my magic."

"That's correct, and because of the amount of magic used, your body shut down to protect your exhausted mind. Also, because of the large amount of magic you possess from prior events, the card tried to accommodate all the extra energy and thus, transformed. But, there is one thing I am not sure of." Eriol then took out the golden object he had taken from Sakura's desk. "Do you remember this Sakura?"

Sakura looked at the object in front of her. It was triangular in size, with two points, completely golden, and looked as if it came from a puzzle. "I think I remember it appearing with Fiery's card form and that it fell into my hands just before I collapsed."

Eriol nodded, "What do you think of it?"

She closed her eyes, extended her magical sense, and thought for a moment before replying. "I feel a magical aura around it that feels sort of like a great light filled with heat and fire… like the sun!" she exclaimed. "I remember that when I gave Fiery's new commands I mentioned that it should burn as bright as the sun, and that's when it transformed!"

Eriol's eyes narrowed in thought and he murmured, "Sakura, you surprise me sometimes."

"Wh-What do you mean? Have I done something wrong?"

"No, not at all; in fact, quite the opposite. When you gave Fiery your magic, you also lent it the power of the sun, but not only through the wording of your command, though it does make a difference, but also by calling upon the sun's power. You, Sakura, are truly worthy of being Clow Reed's successor!"

"Hoe?" Sakura was still puzzled.

"You, a magician who uses the powers of the stars managed to not only call upon the stars' energy but also that of the sun's. That act gave a huge energy boost to Fiery, who is one of the cards under Keroberos the Guardian of Sun's jurisdiction, adding to the energy gained from your already considerable amount of magic."

"But how is that possible?" Yue interrupted, finally speaking after holding his silence.

"Do you remember back when Sakura faced off against my darkness spell two years ago? Back then, she used both yours and Keroberos's power to change the Light and Dark into Sakura Cards. Even if you two didn't show it, you were probably wearied from the experience. In the same way, Sakura must have unconsciously used Keroberos's power to absorb the sun's energy and transfer it to the Fiery. At, least, that's what I am assuming." _To assume the other possibility would be…_

"So-So if something happened to Kero-chan then it would be my fault," Sakura said, eyes watering.

Eriol sighed, "But if you had not unintentionally used Kero's power, we would probably still be trapped under layers upon layers of snow. It isn't your fault Sakura-san." He handed her a tissue from a nearby tissue box.

Sakura nodded, sniffing into the tissue once then looked forlornly at the stair again, with an expression of a child who had lost a precious belonging, or in this case, a dear talking plush toy.

"But what does all that have to do with this golden object?" Yue asked.

Eriol frowned down at the object. "This piece looks like a piece of a puzzle and is probably one of many that will create the image of a sun. My assumption is based on something I have read long ago. It is really too bad that I've forgotten most of it. But how; I confess I do not know." Smiling at a shocked Yue and Sakura, he continued, "Don't look at me that way. Though I am the reincarnation of Clow Reed, I am only that; a reincarnation with many memories and inherited power. Besides, even Clow Reed did not know everything; but don't worry, I won't leave you two hanging. Already, the arrangements are being made to find out more and I promise you I will tell you everything I find about this mystery through Clow Reed's books. Nakuru and Spinel are currently on their way back from England by now."

_He's left himself a loophole… like always._ Yue sighed to himself. Though Eriol had promised to tell them **_everything he found out about the mystery through Clow Reed's books_** that did not mean he had to tell them anything he learned from another source. His ponderings were interrupted by Sakura's surprised exclamation, "Hoe? Back from England?"

"That's right. You didn't think that I would just leave you here by yourself did you?" Eriol said with a smile, lightening up the mood. "I think I'll ask dear Syaoran if I can't take his room for the time being."

"Arigato, Eriol-kun," Sakura said with a slight uneasy chuckle.

"There's no need to thank me. Besides, I'm not the only one who's staying behind to protect their friends. Ja ne, Sakura-san." Eriol replied, exiting the living room and out the front door.

Sakura suddenly realized she had one more thing to ask but… "Chotto matte, Eriol-kun! Geez… he left already."

"Don't worry about him. Knowing his scheming brain, he probably already has a place to stay and will sleep comfortably tonight."

"Yukito-san?" Sakura exclaimed in surprise and in a questioning manner.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?" Yukito, now back to himself replied.

"You could hear what we were talking about?"

"Well, to tell the truth, all I saw was Hiiragizawa-san walking out the door." Yukito smiled. "Most of it was from my other self though. I guess I'll go ask your brother for a sleeping bag. It's a little too late to go home now and I don't have my keys again. So, I'll sleep here again, if that's all right, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, that's all right!"

"See you tomorrow morning then. Good night and sweet dreams."

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"_It will be soon… the test preparations will be ready by the end of the week. How will you fare this time, Card Mistress?"_

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**Japanese Translations**

Gaki – Brat; Derogatory term for a kid

Kawaii – Cute

Ja ne – See you

Chotto Matte – Wait a moment!

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**Ending Note: **Sorry for the long wait. As you have probably seen, I have deleted the old chapters that I am currently revising (not the already revised) to give myself more of a freedom of developing things the way I want. Not to worry thought; I have them all backed up on my computer so some of the scenes will probably be reused (though I'm not sure if that is a relief or not).


	9. Chapter 8: Changing Reflections

**Author's Note: **My excuse for not updating in two months: writer's block.

**Summary: **2 years after the second movie of Card Captor Sakura: The Sealed Card, life seems pretty normal compared to the Card Days, as Sakura and her friends refer to it, not including the training Keroberos forces Sakura to do and the fact that she is having a relationship with Syaoran who is now living back in Hong Kong. However, when magical entities are stirring up inside and around Tomoeda, what will the crew do? Will they take an aggressive stance and run straight into trouble or will they somehow figure out a way keep away from disaster?

**A Riot of Surprise**

**Chapter 8: Changing Reflections**

"Ohayo Sakura-chan," Tomoyo greeted as Sakura walked through the door, surprisingly early. Noticing the tired and listless way Sakura walked, she added, "Couldn't get any sleep yesterday night?"

"Ohayo Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said tiredly, "And no, I don't think I did."

"Ohayo Gozaimasu, Sakura-san," Reizan greeted each girl separately as he came in the door. "Ohayo Gozaimasu, Daidouji-san."

"Ohayo Gozaimasu," they both replied.

"That was a great party on Sunday. Thank you for inviting me," Reizan spoke conversationally to both girls. "Are you okay, Sakura-san?" he asked when Sakura stiffened from the reminder of the strange night. "Silly me, I forgot that you had a cold. Sorry, I forgot," he apologized, saving Sakura a lie.

Just then, the Terada-sensei walked into the room and cleared his throat. "Good morning everyone. Today we have another new addition to the class. Make that, another three new additions. Some of you might recognize our three transfer students from two years ago. Please come in."

The class erupted in whispers and in walked… "Hiiragizawa-san!" Yamazaki exclaimed as loud as Chiharu and Naoko screamed the names of Syaoran and Meiling who looked down embarrassed at the attention. Sakura's eyes widened as she realized that they had told her they would be staying in Tomoeda and she hadn't understood a single word.

Slightly annoyed with the interruption, Terada-sensei cleared his throat and continued, "That's right. Our three transfers are Eriol Hiiragizawa," Eriol smiled at his name, "Syaoran Li," who was too busy staring at one particular girl in the back to show any response, "and Meiling Li. Li-kun and Li-san are cousins from Hong Kong while Hiiragizawa-kun is from England. They flew in from Hong Kong and London yesterday; so please, give them a little room," The last part of the introduction was towards a group of girls near the back of the room who winked their understanding at the Terada-sensei and promptly stopped their giggling. "Please welcome them like you helped Saitakou-kun adjust to our school."

Terada-sensei looked around for empty seats. "Those three in the back are available. Let's seen now… Li-kun, please sit behind Kinomoto-san like before, Li-san behind Daidouji-san, and Hiiragizawa behind Saitakou-kun. Now please, quiet down," he added to the class, "I'm starting homeroom."

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The sun was shining brightly in the crisp spring air later at lunch. Flowers bloomed in the season of growth and the soft grass was cool in the shade. Sitting under their favorite tree, the group of friends gathered around Yamazaki and Eriol. The lying duo was back at it again.

"And watermelons were used as wheels for the wagons made from carrots. Inside of these homemade wagons-"

"were baskets made of grapevines," Yamazaki finished for Eriol.

"But don't grapevines have thorns? They would poke someone's hands, wouldn't they?" Chiharu interrupted.

Not missing a beat, Eriol added, "That's why they made gloves out of potato skins. But these gloves were hard to make because you had to eat many baskets of potatoes before you had enough layers to protect your hands."

Meiling sighed as she watched Syaoran and Sakura absorb the lie with wondering eyes. It seemed Chiharu also noticed because she said with a glare towards Yamazaki, "It's a lie…"

"Hoe?" Sakura exclaimed. "It was a lie, did you know that Syaoran-kun?"

"Well…" Syaoran trailed off.

Tomoyo giggled and pointed her camera at Syaoran's face and commented in the camera, "Syaoran thought, 'Should I lie to her or should I save face and state that I knew?'"

"Shut up, Daidouji!" Syaoran shouted angrily as the others chuckled, while Sakura cocked her head, confused. The others went on talking and eating, but no one but Sakura noticed Reizan was staring off into nowhere, apparently deep in thought.

"Reizan-kun?"

"Huh?" Reizan replied distractedly.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Magic," he replied mysteriously and then added, "Did you know that there are many forms of magic? There are those purely fictional ones of mystical powers and there are those that are incomprehensible to normal men. No matter how you look at it, those two are pretty much the same thing; they are fictional because no one knows about them. Because they are afraid of the unknown, they treat it with scorn or as if it didn't exist. Then, there are those that come from the heart. Those are the ones you must be aware of and act carefully around because the heart is a fickle and fragile thing." He noticed Sakura's confused look and finished with a smile, "Forgive me, I'm just rambling. It's nothing important."

"It's alright," Sakura replied before going back to her food, apparently forgetting the whole topic as she exclaimed, "Oishii! Otou-san is such a good cook!"

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The same day Syaoran, Meiling, and Eriol transferred to Sakura and Tomoyo's school, they gathered together at an ice cream shop the three foreign students had never seen before. "Piffle Princess brand ice cream…" Syaoran commented dryly to Tomoyo, the heir to the Daidouji Corporation. One of the stores they owned was called Piffle Princess which produced clothes designed by Tomoyo herself.

"That's right. Mother decided that we needed something cheap but profitable to add a little more research money to the company. Though we were planning to stop production of the product after a few months, the ice cream was such a big seller that we bought this premise and turned it into an ice cream shop!" Tomoyo finished her explanation with a flourish of the hand, showing off the small but comfortable shop. With a window to the left, once through the door, the first thing you saw was a poster with small pictures of all the different kinds of flavors. What caught the eye though was a small little panel separate from all the other regular flavors labeled. The panel was titled, Flavors of Fate. Sakura had glared at Tomoyo with an accusing shake of her fist the first time she had seen them because the names of the fifty two flavors were exactly same as the ones in her own deck of Sakura cards. Prices were positioned to the left of this panel in the form of another poster attached to the wall. From outside the restaurant, you could clearly see the counter and the flavor poster through the transparent glass window.

Under the poster of flavors were booths lined along the right wall. To the left of the door were the usual square tables, but with stiff backed dining chairs usually seen in restaurants. Near the front window, and towards the left wall, curved an L-shaped counter with a movable panel at the left end when facing the wall. Its size and design was small enough to admit an adult's entrance or exit and keep infants and little children out. The counter was adorned with many stands portraying business information, flyers, and the cash register behind which there was always an employee. To the right of the cash register, facing the wall was a section of the counter built to reveal samples of all the flavors. The transparent glass enabled a customer look into the refrigerated tubs of uncapped ice cream. For supplies, a door behind the counter opened into a storage room. Creation of the orders (for ice-cream was not all that was served) was all made at a second counter behind the first unless the order was plain old delicious ice-cream. All in all, it was very efficient, Tomoyo told them.

"I think I can guess, but why are we here again?" Eriol asked with Syaoran nodding his curiosity. The two boys were seated at a booth next to the window with plain sight of the streets outside. Meiling picked a separate table next to theirs and sat down, pulling out a chair for Tomoyo in the process.

Sakura had gone to order their ice cream with Tomoyo's money so Tomoyo felt reasonably more comfortable enlightening the other three with her thoughts. "It's like this," she began, "Sakura is obviously very overjoyed that you three are staying here in Tomoeda, but she's also worried about Kero-chan. If we host a small celebration – more like a reunion – then it'll help take her mind off of her worries for awhile with a legitimate reason to celebrate."

"You're very considerate of Sakura-san," Eriol commented, insightfully nodding at the same time his lips formed a faint smile. Tomoyo didn't notice this for her gaze was still fixed to her energetic friend debating what flavors to pick at the counter, obviously enjoying herself.

"Of course," she replied with a smile, "Sakura-chan is a very special person to me."

Syaoran and Meiling took it as that and started arguing about the differences between their school back in Hong Kong and the Junior High in Tomoeda. Strangely, it was Eriol that said, "May I ask why you're in this outfit, Daidouji-san?"

Tomoyo looked down at the plain brown coat that was one size too large for her through tinted sunglasses and. She wore a matching hat to complete the suspicious outfit. Laughing a bit to awkwardly to be believable, she answered, "The workers here tend to shower me with too many ideas and offers of free ice-cream that I end up spending hours as they restrain me in the storage room."

Eriol nodded gravely, "And that's why Sakura-san is over there instead of you, buying the ice-cream with money that is yours."

Tomoyo smiled in acknowledgment before sighing and taking off her tinted glasses and cap, praying that no one would notice. Her wish was granted in a rather strange away as a single voice exclaimed over the small chatter in the shop.

"Sakura-san, what are you doing here?" Syaoran's ears perked up at the sound of another male using Sakura's name informally. He transferred his eyes from Tomoyo to Sakura where a brown-haired youth with yellow streaks in his hair had approached Sakura with a smile.

"Who does he think he is, getting overly familiar to Sakura," Syaoran hissed, echoed by Meiling (who replaced 'Sakura' with 'Kinomoto-san') to the same effect.

Not engrossed with bloodlust for this newcomer like the other two, only Eriol noticed Tomoyo stiffen when Sakura exclaimed in surprise, "Class Rep?"

"I told you; you don't need to be so formal with me outside of school. Class Rep sounds so distant," the youth replied. Akin to Syaoran's stature, his olive colored eyes looked down at Sakura's more meager height, gleaming as if they were watching a hilarious seen. At first glance, he seemed to be flirtatious in nature yet his straight and prideful posture accompanied with his school uniform belied that impression.

"Alright… Rizoshi-san," Sakura replied uneasily.

"Takao, call me Takao," he countered, brushing back loose strands of his hair from his eyes.

Sakura shuffled uneasily as he started rambling on about why it was advantageous for her to be familiar with him, none of which she understood. What did cleaning duty have to do with anything; and wasn't he just trying to bribe her with the possibility of sleeping in late?

Back at the table, Meiling had a tough time holding Syaoran (and herself) back from throwing a nearby chair at the obnoxious classmate. Instead of joining in their murmuring of heated insults, Tomoyo sank in her seat.

"Aren't you going to help Sakura-san?" Eriol asked.

Tomoyo shook her head, "He's harmless… Sakura-chan can deal with him by herself. She doesn't need my help; she's been in bigger problems than this. She has a fan club for mercy's sake!"

"Fan club?" the cousins asked, stopping their constant stream of angry mutterings towards the class representative long enough to stare her down with a threat. "What fan club?" Syaoran demanded dangerously.

With hand motions to emphasize that she didn't think it was that big of a deal, she said, "Didn't you know? Sakura-san is the vice-captain of our cheerleading squad and is the third best runner on the track team. With that combination, it's no wonder her fan club consists of almost a hundred students and many secret admirers."

"How's that not a big deal," Syaoran almost screamed, his raised voice attracting a questioning glance from the object of their discussion. Thankfully, the only customers at that time of the day were rowdy teenagers from their school who didn't pay much attention to the angry transfer student. They blamed his behavior on his foreign upbringing and jet lag.

Pushing Syaoran back into his chair, Meiling apologized for her cousin and let Tomoyo continue. "If she can deal with a fan club, she can deal with one overly flirtatious teenager," she waved away Syaoran's look of disbelief. "Sakura has changed, Li-san – for the better of course. Besides; I have a fan club too," she added, the last so casually that it took a second before the others could react.

Instead of distressing over the fact, however, the three transfer students just nodded. Though Sakura probably hadn't (and still didn't) know, in the time the three had stayed in Tomoeda, a small fan club – but a fan club nonetheless – had existed for the purpose of worshipping the 'angelic singer' and 'incredibly smart' girl in elementary school.

Tomoyo reassured them that this Takao Rizoshi was no problem at all. Syaoran and Meiling grudgingly left it at that, trusting their friend's judgment but Eriol was not so sure. "If you say so…" he relented after Tomoyo challenged his doubt-filled words with a glare. They turned their attention back to the class representative and Sakura.

"By the way, where is your raven-haired friend?" Takao asked Sakura, looking around the shop. Takao's back was facing the group near the windows though, so he didn't find his target. "Isn't she always with you?"

Tomoyo gave Sakura a forceful shake of her head. As a result, Sakura sighed inwardly and pretended not to hear Takao's question. She changed the subject, "Are you going to buy anything? You're kind of in the way of the customers."

"Eh?" Takao questioned, turning around to face a growing line up frowning customers waiting for him to get out of the way. "Sorry, sorry, it wasn't intentional," he apologized, pulling Sakura with him out of their way. He apologized again when someone growled at him, though the source of the sound originated from behind him.

Meiling kicked Syaoran under the table. Letting out a small yelp of pain and surprise, Syaoran sullenly rubbed his bruised leg and muttered, "He grabbed her without permission."

"Whose permission, yours or hers?" was Meiling's reply to his reasoning.

"Both."

The argument was stopped by a thud as Tomoyo slammed her head on the table to the shout of, "There she is!"

"There she is!" Takao repeated in recognition, despite Sakura's attempts to steer his vision from the corner her friends were sitting at. "Let's go Sakura-san!" he commanded, pointing to the girl who was currently sinking farther and deeper into her seat until her head leaned against the top of the chair's stiff back. "Tomomo!"

"Don't you dare laugh," Tomoyo hissed to Eriol whose eyes held an amused twinkling that foretold doom to its target. He covered his mouth with one hand while shaking his head to deny the chuckles coming from him.

"Like an angel as always, my Tomomo!" Takao exclaimed, standing behind Tomoyo and staring down at her. "But shouldn't you sit up straighter, more like royalty?"

"I am not yours and my name is Tomoyo," she retorted furiously, angrier at Eriol's laughter than at the source of the annoyance. 'Also, you have no right to order me around – it's not like I am royalty," she added the last in an undertone to herself.

"What are you saying, 'Miss Fiancée?'"

"Fiancée?" Syaoran, Meiling, and even Eriol, exclaimed in surprise.

"Hoe..." Sakura muttered in the background.

Tomoyo shook her head in response and sat straighter in her chair, ignoring Takao's triumphant smile. Why couldn't she sit up straight? There was no point in hiding anymore and her back was killing her!

"You don't have to be embarrassed, dear Tomomo," Takao said, mistaking her denial as inexistent embarrassment. Maybe it was because her cheeks were flaming red from anger or the way she gripped his arm before he could touch her. But pondering and taking hints was not his style, so he took the excruciatingly painful squeezing of his arm with a brave wince and mistook it for a signal for reassurance – to Tomoyo's endless torment.

"That's right; she's my fiancée!" he exclaimed, sending Tomoyo's head plummeting into the table's hard surface again.

"Don't decide things by yourself," she moaned – in part from the painful collision.

"That's a side of her we haven't seen…" Eriol muttered to himself. Meiling, the only one who heard him, nodded in agreement.

"What are you saying," Takao asked in bewilderment, "There's really no need to be embarrassed, dear Tomomo!"

"Are you really so stupid that you can't tell apart anger and embarrassment, Class Rep.?" Syaoran broke in, emphasizing the title with mocking tones.

Takao looked up, a scowl on his face, "I didn't see you there, transfer student. In fact, if you hadn't spoken up, I would have ignored you completely as someone not worth my time; but, I know a threat when I hear one. So will you make the worst mistake of your life and challenge me?"

"This, coming from a complete idiot?"

"Do you know who you are insulting?"

"Not at all, and I don't care," Syaoran smirked, "All I need to know is that you're an idiot; and all you need to know is to stay away from Sakura and Daidouji." Syaoran paused for a moment, then added with a grin, "And me."

"When it comes to Sakura-san, I guess Li-san changes also," Eriol commented to Meiling, who nodded in agreement again. _Then again, we haven't been together like this for awhile and maybe I've changed as well… or the circumstances have. Back then, it would only be the four of them around the table. Strangely, I feel as if I've intruded in some way, but we've had three years to adjust to each other; we should all get along fine… except for Li-san of course._

"Cocky aren't you?" Takao glared, "You can laugh all you want when your family is digging up graves for scraps. I'll make sure you're broken down, Syaoran Li," Takao snapped confidently, his simplistic attitude from earlier all but gone.

"Right, whatever you say, commoner."

"Commoner!" Takao exclaimed, outraged. "I'll have you know that I come from a prestigious family in these parts. My father is the mayor of this city and our family owns at least a sixth of the companies here in Tomoeda! We're as good as royalty! If you're more careful from now on, this member of the elite will make sure you eat your words."

Syaoran grinned nonchalantly at the threat, "Words which are spoken are not meant to be taken back. If you really are serious, I'll take on your challenge with the full power of the Li Corporation as its heir."

This statement evidently shocked the competition as the first hint of fear shone from Takao's eyes. "Wait… Li Corporation? Don't tell me you're the fifth child… the only son of Yelan Li?"

"What of it," Syaoran asked, smirking with triumph. "Didn't you know?"

"The answer's obvious," Meiling answered for the dumbstruck 'elite', "That blank look, open mouth, wide eyes, stiffening of the spine; he didn't know alright."

"And who is this fair lady," Takao interrupted her rude appraisement of his reaction with a flourish of simple minded charm in a failing effort to redeem himself in their eyes. "Meiling, am I right?"

"It's Li-san to you," she replied coldly, "I have no respect for flirtatious pests." Addressing Tomoyo and Sakura, she asked, "Is he always like this?"

Tomoyo nodded sullenly. Sakura followed suit albeit reluctantly, uncomfortable with insulting the class representative in front of his face. Takao backed sullenly away from Syaoran, spun around on his heels and walked out the door, calling back, "I'll see you another time, sweet Sakura-san, charming Meiling-san, and my angelic Tomomo."

Syaoran: "Don't use Sakura's name so casually!"

Meiling: "I said 'It's Li-san to you!'"

Tomoyo: "My name is Tomoyo!"

Sakura sighed as Takao's back disappeared from view.

"That was strangely entertaining," Eriol commented a few seconds later, earning him the wrathful glares from Syaoran and Meiling. Sakura and Tomoyo (back to her calm and composed ways) were too polite to do anything but frown.

"Number two-hundred and thirteen; your order is ready!"

"Ah, the ice-cream!" Sakura exclaimed, forgetting the whole event as if nothing happened.

It wasn't as easy for the offended to forget their rage but they managed to soothe themselves back complacency at Sakura's reappearance carrying a tray of ice-cream with their orders. Syaoran stood up to help her distribute the cold confections, pulling a chair out for her while he was at it.

Idle chatter started up at the two tables as they ate. Somewhat unnerved by the beaming smiles Meiling and Tomoyo wore on their faces as they started a discussion on clothing, Sakura accepted Syaoran's offer of a seat next to him and took a big bite into her strawberry flavored ice-cream cone that she picked for no other reason than for consistency and its color. No matter how old she got, she would always love the color pink. With her two female companions deep in conversation, chattering in the background about how Meiling wished that a Piffle Princess store would open near where she and Syaoran had lived in Hong Kong Sakura and the two boys ate silently. She glanced at Syaoran and received a warm smile. Smiling back, she took another bite of her cone, the coldness doing nothing to hinder the growing warmth she felt inside. In fact, the sweetness just added fuel to the fire as she smiled at how Syaoran had tried to defend her… though he was a tad bit overprotective.

"Only a tad bit overprotective?" Eriol asked with a smile.

Sakura blinked, "Hoe?"

"What's that supposed to mean, megane?" Syaoran retorted angrily.

"Exactly what you think it means." Over Syaoran's growl, Eriol continued with a straight face, "Seriously, I've always wondered how you can hate little likable me?"

"Its that self-righteous arrogant attitude you have!"

Sakura watched in wonder, wondering all the while how they could act like that after the whole matter of exchanging threats and how Eriol read his mind.

She had just decided that nothing was impossible when Tomoyo, accustomed to Sakura's confusion, leaned over the back of her chair and whispered into Sakura's ear, "You were thinking out loud."

Sakura's exclamation of shock and embarrassment cut the air and silenced the ice cream shock for a few seconds until Tomoyo apologized for her as she was too embarrassed to do anything but hide her face in her hands.

"Eh, it's Daidouji-sama!" a worker cried out in abrupt recognition of the soft voice.

"What; where?" came the reply of three others.

As a result, Tomoyo found herself back under a hastily adorned cap and her amethyst eyes behind her sunglasses. She silently whispered an apology to Sakura as her friend was pulled away from the table. Grinning awkwardly in another apology to Syaoran, she sank into her seat as she listened to Sakura's cries for help. As the best friend of the company heiress, Sakura was expected to act as a substitute and accept messages intended for Tomoyo. With no help forthcoming, (Syaoran outside human barrier formed by the circle of bodies) Sakura forced herself to be brave as customer watched the swarm of worker mob her with questions.

"Good reflexes," Tomoyo replied to Eriol's incredulous smile at her speed. "And habit," she added.

A sudden shattering of class and screams from outside brought the light-hearted scene to an end. Customers dove for cover under tables as the glass broke door and windows broke. Syaoran and Meiling with their training were able to avoid most of the dangerous shards but only Tomoyo was able to avoid all of the shards. Eriol, with his mysterious reflexes and quick thinking, was able to push Tomoyo from the path of sharp fragments in between the two paths of projectiles caused by the synchronous imploding of windows and door.

"Call the ambulance," someone shouted over the screams and chaos.

Hearing the shout and cries of pain from her position on the floor, Tomoyo's heart pounded painfully as she felt her worst fears realized. Recklessly pushing Eriol off of her, shredding her palms with glass shards, she got up and spun around. Shameful with her thoughts, she sighed in relief when she saw Sakura relatively unscathed with tears in her eyes.

It was found that no one was hurt much when the ambulance came. It seemed the workers fussing over Sakura had blocked the worst of broken glass leaving her with only a small cut on her forearm. Those workers who had to bravely go to the hospital were given a paid vacation when Tomoyo's mother arrived on the scene, even before the police showed up with sirens flashing red and blue.

The friends, except for Meiling, sat on a bench outside the shop, watching the day go on. Sakura, between Syaoran and Tomoyo, was obviously lost in thought, but only Eriol noticed. With Syaoran, overwhelmed with concerns for Sakura, and Tomoyo with her own agenda, the only one not occupied enough with thoughts was the reincarnated boy, leaving him the only one still observant.

Tomoyo continued to smile reassuringly when Sakura asked her how she felt, but frowned inside when all Sakura continued to do afterwards was pester Syaoran with "Are really alright?" Syaoran had taken three nasty looking parallel cuts on his right cheek during the incident. Worrying, even when Syaoran repeated that they were extremely shallow cuts, Sakura all but ignored Tomoyo.

Tomoyo frowned inside again, this time at herself. It really wasn't like she had said anything worth comment or even asked her a question other than "Daijoubu?" Yet she still couldn't help but feel… left out. Not even when she thanked Eriol for protecting her could she keep from dwelling on her unhappiness. Not even when she apologized for getting him hurt and apologizing yet again when she patted his shoulder as thanks and accidentally touching a deeper injury. Not even when she laughed lightly with him.

"Here you go!" Meiling shouted out enthusiastically, handing the four of them cups of hot cocoa. The night was cold and they were outside in it. Meiling sat down with her own cup after a chorus of thanks made her smile. Though the moon was gaining more confidence and the sun was sinking away, the police still hadn't released them. They believed the culprit was still nearby though there was no evidence left anywhere they could see or search – which they **had** seen or searched. Sakura expressed her derision towards this belief in a foul mood.

"Do you have evidence that they are wrong?" Meiling asked.

Sakura shook her head, "No hard evidence, but…"

"What is it, Sakura-san?" Eriol encouraged.

"I thought I felt a magical pulse before the glass exploded-"

"I think the term is imploded," Syaoran interrupted.

"Quiet, meanie," Sakura pouted.

Meiling sighed, "Alright, let's get back on track. What does this mean?"

A crack in the air was their answer. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees and the street lamps flickered agitatedly.

Cries of "Are you alright?" filled the air as some adults rushed over to them.

One of them, a police officer, said, "We saw a bolt of lightning fall from the skies, somewhere around here."

"But there're no clouds," someone added ominously.

As soon as the matter was all cleared up – a matter of minutes – the adults went back to trying to find the culprit of the mysterious window shattering.

"They're gone," Meiling announced.

Sakura nodded and carefully opened her bloody palm to reveal an amethyst not unlike the one she found in her bedroom yesterday. The moment it touched the air, it split opened and dissolved, blowing into the air leaving only her bloody palm and the memory of its disappearance.

Another letter was held within:

"_To the Card Mistress of the Cards,"_

_Your title's a bit redundant but you'll have to bear with it for now. That's of little importance, however. The most important thing you should know is… you failed!"_

"_Yes, that's right, you failed. As the sole protector of this city, you failed. There's no need to worry though; failing one test won't put you out of the running (for what I won't tell). There are many more tests to come, so here are a few tips and advice."_

"_1) Be more alert_._  
2) React quicker_._  
3) Be ready at all times_._  
4) Beware of **fire**_."

"_With regards to your well being (if that is something that can be said). And please, don't think too harshly of me."_

"Him again?" Syaoran snarled. "Who does he think he is?"

"Whoever he is, he's confident," Eriol replied.

"Seems just plain childish to me," Tomoyo muttered.

"Whoever he is," Sakura started, echoing Eriol, "he'll be back."

"How do you know he's a he?"

"Hoe?"

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**Japanese Translations**

Ohayo Gozaimasu – Good morning.

Oishii – Delicious

Otou-san – Father

Megane – Translated as glasses, but it is sometimes used to mean "Four-eyes." (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Daijoubu? – Are you alright?

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**Ending Note: **Hai, hai, ruined the ominous note at the end but... I couldn't help it! Compared to some of the chapters before, this is a relatively long chapter. Sorry if you think it was pointless, but character introductions are a bit taxing… Well, hope you enjoyed it!


	10. Chapter 9: Dreaming Premonitions

**Author's Note: **Since it's Winter Break, and since I felt like it, this is another update in the same month. It's also to make up for the two month lag between updates. Enjoy.

**Summary: **2 years after the second movie of Card Captor Sakura: The Sealed Card, life seems pretty normal compared to the Card Days, as Sakura and her friends refer to it, not including the training Keroberos forces Sakura to do and the fact that she is having a relationship with Syaoran who is now living back in Hong Kong. However, when magical entities are stirring up inside and around Tomoeda, what will the crew do? Will they take an aggressive stance and run straight into trouble or will they somehow figure out a way keep away from disaster?

**A Riot of Surprise**

**Chapter 9: Dreaming Premonitions**

_Time stood still around a frozen pond with no trace of life; the greenery hidden under frost, the trees frozen into statues, the sky covered with insubstantial clouds that blocked the sun nonetheless, leaving only tiny, stray streams of weakened light. In the dead center of the pond stood a figure swathed in shadows dark in comparison to the idly shimmering patches of white scattered around him. A hood covered his face, a cloak his features. _

_In a sudden rush, time unwound and continued setting the figure into motion. Raising its arm soothing but unintelligible words came from its hidden lips. A muffled crack followed the soft sounds. With sparkling sapphire wings a falcon faded into existence and floated gracefully down onto the raised arm. With slightly transparent features, the falcon's crystalline form landed effortless and its talons clasped its perch tightly._

_Whistling filled the air accompanied by swirling snow and a sudden flurry of snow until the two mysterious figures faded from view. Before they completely disappeared however, the shadow hidden figure moved its head to face her and disappeared in a sudden torrent of fire that turned the pond and its surroundings into sodden black ash. Burning branches crackled before they too disappeared into the foggy memory of dreams._

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"Sakura!"

"Sakura-chan!"

"Hoe?" Sakura muttered, raising her head from Syaoran's shoulder. Beside her, Tomoyo and Syaoran stirred into semi-wakefulness rousing Meiling and Eriol in the process.

"Get away from my sister, gaki!" Toya yelled, grabbing Syaoran by the shoulders and yanking him off the bench he had been asleep on. Groggily fighting back, Syaoran managed to open his mouth before being tossed onto the cold hard ground. Toya's voice evidently woke him enough for a glaring contest to ensue and before long they were at it again: a verbal/physical fight with no restrictions.

As the two fought in the background, Yukito and Sonomi told the other four teenagers that the police had finally given up the investigation on the mysterious case of shattering windows. Amidst the yelling and scuffling, police teams were busy putting away safety cones, caution tape, and the remains of the shattered windows all along the street. Due to the nature of the late hour, their movements seemed exaggerated and blurred, illuminated only by the tall lampposts towering overhead.

After the explanations, a still sleepy Sakura asked while rubbing her eyes, "Why didn't you come earlier, Yukito-san?"

Yukito put a hand behind his head sheepishly and laughed. "After some errands, Toya and I went to eat dinner at a buffet," he said as if that was all they needed to know. "So there was nobody at your house – your father is still at work – and our cell phones were off."

"That… explains a lot," Meiling commented with a querulous smile directed at Eriol. The reincarnation shrugged.

"Sorry for coming so late," Yukito amended with a smile. "Now, shall we go?"

Over at a table in front of a café, where he was arm wrestling with Syaoran, Toya called out, "As soon as you've gotten whatever stuff you might have forgotten, I'll drive you home. Unlike you junior high-schoolers, we college students have to sleep early to have enough energy for a day full of lectures." He grunted with exertion as Syaoran added more force, pushing Toya's hand nearer to the surface of the wooden table.

"Alright," Sakura called back with a sigh as Toya's shouts grew louder increasing with the rate he was losing. "Do you need a ride home?" she continued, the question directed Tomoyo, Meiling, and Eriol.

"My mother is busy doing some legal work, so if you don't mind, I'll be coming with you," Tomoyo replied. Sakura smiled in response. She turned towards Meiling.

"Wei will be here a few minutes after I call him so Syaoran and I don't need a ride."

"Since I'm using my descendant's room until Nakuru and Spinel arrive, I also have a ride," Eriol answered after Meiling spoke.

Slamming Toya's hand down in victory, Syaoran interrupted, "Wrong; you're sleeping on the couch tonight!" That earned a sigh and a shrug from Eriol which infuriated him all the more.

As Toya demanded a rematch, Sakura shouted over him, "Let's go, Tomoyo-chan, Yukito-san… What are you doing? Hurry up, Onii-chan!"

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In the car, Toya talked with Yukito who sat in the passenger's seat, leaving the two best friends sitting behind them in silence. Sakura covered her yawn with a sluggish hand. Tomoyo smiled.

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo asked a moment later.

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask a favor of you?"

"What do you need?"

"Could I stay over tonight?"

Sakura looked over at her friend as lights raced by the windows and the muffled sound of the car's old engine chugged on. "Sure, but why tonight?"

"What's wrong with tonight?" Tomoyo asked in reply.

Sakura shook her head, "Nothing; I'm just curious as to why you'd choose tonight and not the weekend."

"I feel like it," Tomoyo answered cryptically.

Sensing a need for privacy, Sakura pushed away her internal questions and instead nodded. "Let's talk all night then!"

Tomoyo smiled at her friend's sudden burst of energy, "I thought you were tired."

Sakura chuckled, "I was, but not anymore since you'll be here tonight with me! It's been awhile."

Tomoyo nodded in agreement. The rest of the quick trip back to the Kinomoto residence was spent in idle chatter and praising the fact that they had no homework that night. You wouldn't have thought they had endured a disturbing afternoon if you had seen them laughing in the car.

The ride passed uneventful until they reached the house and Toya parked the car.

"Mail?" Toya announced querulously, picking up a letter sitting on the first step leading to the front door. A scowl replaced his arced eyebrows as he read the sender and passed it without further comment to its intended recipient.

"It's from Reizan-kun," Sakura told Tomoyo as they headed upstairs to her room at the end of the hallway.

"Saikatou-san?"

Sakura nodded.

"_Dear Sakura-san,"_

"_How are you? When I saw you and your friends on the television today, I was worried that something had happened to you. I came over to your house at eight, but no one was home. But that's not the main reason for sending this letter. By the time you read this, you probably won't meet me until tomorrow morning, but I have a favor to ask: could you please show me and my friend around the city on Sunday. He will be arriving Saturday evening and will stay at my house as a roommate, so you could say you're your new neighbor. The reason I can't show him around myself is because I've found myself lost on more than one occasion while trying to find a place to shop for food. If you have a friend that could help, please ask him/her too; it's nothing private like… a love confession for example, to have one more person in on the 'secret.' Please meet me at the gym tomorrow before school with your answer. I hope you have a good night's sleep."_

"_With regards,  
Reizan Saikatou"_

"A tour of the city?" Tomoyo asked after reading it once through. Sakura shrugged in response and glanced at her two alarm clocks; they read eleven thirty.

"Sakura, we have some leftovers from yesterday. If you want, we'll heat some for you and Tomoyo-chan!"

"Arigatou, onii-chan," Sakura called back down.

"I'll come with you tomorrow morning," Tomoyo suddenly announced.

"Hoe!"

"I'll wake you up so you won't miss this appointment."

"B-But, I didn't agree to go." Sakura protested.

"You're not honestly going to leave him there waiting, are you?" Tomoyo questioned, "You have morning duty so it won't be that much of a hassle waking half an hour earlier."

Sakura shook her head slowly after giving it a second's thought. "There's a catch though, isn't there?"

Tomoyo smiled widely and pulled out an extravagant, rolled-up length of beautiful, cherry pink cloth.

"What… is that?" Sakura deadpanned.

"They're ribbons for you to wear tomorrow. Even if it's an early morning appointment, you have to look your best and I bet Li-san would love them. In fact, I'll bet you that he'll be speechless."

"He'll be speechless all right," Sakura muttered, eyeing the lacy thing with horror.

"Don't worry," Tomoyo reassured, "There are no hidden cameras in it. In fact, there isn't anything inconspicuous enough that exists; believe me, I've tried."

Sakura chuckled uneasily, unsure how to respond but stammered out, "So that's why you wanted to stay over tonight, right?"

Tomoyo's face fell. It was in such a short moment though, that Sakura only caught a hint of sadness in her best friend's eyes. She dismissed it however, when Tomoyo laughed and agreed "to a point."

Eventually agreeing, Sakura left the letter on her desk, stared wistfully at Kero's bedchamber and went into the bathroom. Tomoyo sat on the rug covering the carpet, fiddling with the hem of her school uniform. She let out everything in a sigh and put on a smile, reaching under Sakura's bed for a sleep-over bag she had left there at the last sleep over, a month ago. A click, followed by a beep, and Tomoyo chuckled softly _(Ohohohoh…)_ raising her video camera.

Toya winced as an earsplitting scream followed by, "Tomoyo, take that thing out of the bathroom!" He sighed at the antics of his sister and his cousin before locking the front door. A moment later, the sounds of Yukito's bike faded away. Reaching the stairs, he turned the lights off.

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_In a dark room somewhere in Tomoeda…_

"Tomorrow morning… that's when they'll find out **he's **here," a voice murmured in soft conversational tones as his hands stroked the fur of an enormous black wolf. "We have, at the most, two weeks before they come. Let's push the schedule up."

"As you wish, master…"

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_"Fire!" she yelled to no avail. No one came, no help arrived; nothing but the crackling of the burning circle filled the silence. "Don't leave me behind," she tried to yell. With smoke pouring into her eyes, nose, and mouth, all she could manage was a raspy cough. She collapsed to the floor. "Help… save me!"_

_The last thing she saw as she lay there on her back was a faceless phantom. A single drop of water splashed onto her bare arm, the coolness lasting only a second before the fire swallowed it up and all feeling disappeared. Yet, before she faded completely away, she felt that she had indeed been saved._

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"Sakura-chan… Sakura-chan… Wake up!"

"Five more minutes, Kero-chan," Sakura mumbled lashing out at where the flying guardian should be. Instead of feeling empty air like usual however, her hand hit something soft and warm with a slap.

The sound woke her up where words could not and she stared up into Tomoyo's shocked eyes. A second paused before Sakura completely took in her friend's straight but uncombed hair, nightgown, the red mark on her face, and the ringing alarm clock in her hand. Wait… red mark?

"Hoe! Tomoyo-chan, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were there!"

Tomoyo rubbed her cheek gingerly and sulked, "That's no reason to slap me."

"Gomen, gomen, gomen, gomen…" Sakura repeated over and over, pleading for forgiveness.

"All right, all right," Tomoyo sighed dramatically, "You're forgiven. Now get up and get dressed. After that, we'll comb your hair and tie it up with that lovely ribbon."

Sakura nodded with relief and offered, "I'll comb your hair too after you comb mine, alright?"

Moments later, Sakura closed her eyes and leaned back into Tomoyo as the comb went through her hair. "It's been too long since you've combed my hair, Tomoyo-chan. Back in second grade, you combed my hair everyday."

"It was – and still is – my pleasure," Tomoyo replied.

"Of course it was your pleasure; aside from combing my hair, you got to dress me up however you pleased."

"Ah, those lovely days watching my dear Sakura-chan in those beautiful handmade dresses. All right, all done."

Sakura opened her eyes and carefully touched her hair, basking vainly in her reflection. Nodding her thanks/appreciation/gratitude, Sakura traded places with Tomoyo and took up the comb. "I really do envy you, Tomoyo-chan. Your hair is so smooth. I wish my hair could be that beautiful."

"Believe me; your hair is beautiful enough as it is."

"Kaijuu! Are you still not up?" Toya's voice reached Sakura loud and clear.

"I'm not a monster!" she yelled back.

Laughter from below mocked her and she gritted her teeth as his reply wriggled its way into her ear, "I'll take that as a yes. Breakfast is ready so come down or you'll miss your morning appointment."

"Onii-chan, you were eavesdropping again!"

More laughter was all she got for yelling her throat hoarse…

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Over a breakfast of pancakes, Toya announced that his college was preparing a spring festival, and so he wouldn't be home for the next three days. "So you'll be home alone for three days, kaijuu," he called out as Sakura and Tomoyo headed for school. Sakura waved without looking back.

"Why didn't Reizan-kun tell me to meet him at his house? He does live next door," Sakura thought aloud.

"His house is probably still a mess having just moved in," Tomoyo offered.

"But wouldn't it be more convenient to talk about it in the classroom or sometime during lunch? I understand coming before school, but it's still a bit cold these days. Again, the classroom might have been a better choice," she complained, rubbing her eyes groggily.

"Quit whining. Just because you're still tired…" Tomoyo trailed off. _Could it be…?_ she thought slyly as a car drove past them on the street.

"What?"

"Who has duties with you this morning?"

Sakura thought for a moment before she remembered, "I think it is Syaoran-kun's turn today."

"So maybe he doesn't want Li-san there because maybe he would object?" Tomoyo suggested.

Sakura incredulously asked, "Why would Syaoran-kun object?"

"Jealousy has a way of turning every innocent action into a crime," Tomoyo answered with a smile as they entered the front gates of the school ground.

"Sakura-san! And… Daidouji-san, correct?" a voice intruded their conversation. The interruption had such a great timing that Sakura ended up waving to Reizan and forgetting all about the topic of jealousy. Tomoyo smiled to herself as they arrived in front of the gym doors. Reizan had a smile on his face and something in his hand as he beckoned them over. "So…" he started as they neared.

"When do you want your tour of the city?" Sakura answered before he could finish the question. Smiling for good measure, she continued, "I think I'm free on the weekend."

"Thank you," he smiled back in relief.

A thought hit her then, "I'm just curious about why you asked me of all people? Don't we have a club that offers tours; I think they were called the Journey Club or something."

"That's the club at your brother's college," Tomoyo interrupted, "and I think they were called the Public Service Club."

Reizan laughed at that and Tomoyo had the decency to look abashed when Sakura glared at her in embarrassment. After his amusement faded a bit, Reizan answered, "I think, mainly because we're neighbors. I think that it'd be better to ask you because I know you've been living here all your life, judging from how your house looks; orderly, well used, and maybe a little old looking. Also, it would be a good opportunity to get to know you better and to introduce you to the other person that will be living next door."

"Then… I'll meet you for the tour on Sunday," Reizan continued after Sakura's gesture of understanding.

"Sunday? Aren't you joining us for lunch?" Sakura asked.

"Actually, I have some errands to run and stacks of homework to make-up." He added with a hand behind his head, "It is a hassle transferring into a new school in the middle of the year."

Just then Sakura let out a cry of surprise. "It's already this late? Li-kun is going to kill me for not getting their on time. Sorry, Reizan-kun, Tomoyo-chan, I have to go do my morning duties." She disappeared in a flash, leaving behind only a trail of dust. The sound of the opening and closing of the front door left Tomoyo and Reizan in silence.

"That was one of the quickest exits I've ever seen, "Reizan commented.

"She's had faster," Tomoyo corrected with a smile. "You don't mind if I help with the tour on Sunday do you?"

Reizan blinked at her for a second before he apologized for his lack of attention and said, "The more the merrier!"

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Sakura rushed into the room and slammed it open. "Syaoran-kun, gomenasai, I'm–"

Sakura trailed off, finding the room empty. "That's weird," she muttered to herself as she surveyed the room. Strangely, the chairs were perfectly aligned; the date and announcements were written on the board; the potted plants were watered and placed on the window ledge for the sunlight. "That's weird," she muttered again.

"What's weird?" a voice asked behind her.

"Hoe!" she exclaimed, jumping into the room in fright.

She landed on the ground with palms open, knees aching, turning around. "Sy-Syaoran-kun! Don't scare me like that!" she cried out with fear produced tears in her eyes.

Syaoran ignored her and demanded, "Where were you? I finished almost all of the duties already."

"Gomen, gomen…" Sakura apologized pleadingly.

Syaoran sighed and waved his hand as if saying that it didn't matter anymore. Sakura watched in confusion as he headed back out of the classroom and was about to call for him to wait when he returned with a broom in hand. She cocked her head in confusion.

"Arts class," he answered as if that was all she needed to know. When she shook her head, not understanding the message he clarified, "The mess the class created with paper mosaics?"

"Oh…"

They worked quickly and in silence afterwards. So quickly, in fact, that they finished a minute. Sakura stretched and yawned at her desk, digging through her bag for school supplies when she noticed, "I don't have my obento!"

Syaoran didn't spare her a glance as she tried to remember where she had put it. In the end, she sighed in relief as she realized that Tomoyo had it. Where was Tomoyo anyways?

"Sakura," Syaoran interrupted her thoughts. "I'm leaving Japan on Saturday."

"Eh, what? Why?" Sakura exclaimed in shock. "You can't leave, you just got here!"

Syaoran smiled sadly, "It's not permanent, just for the weekend. I'll be back by the time school starts."

"But… why?" Sakura questioned, evidently downhearted.

"The elders want me to report our situation… in person," he added the last when Sakura opened her mouth. She bit back her "why can't you just send them a letter" question as a result.

"Also," he continued, "I have some errands to run so I can't meet you for lunch for the next two days either and so I won't see you much until next Monday." Seeing that she still looked downhearted, he added, "Meiling will still be here."

"It's important…" he finished lamely.

Just when Syaoran decided to do something about the oppressive silence, a scream pierced the air.

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura cried out, recognizing the voice instantly.

"Daidouji? She was here?" Syaoran called out as he followed Sakura outside, trailing behind her breakneck pace.

As Sakura took the first step out the front door of the school complex, she heard the sound of breaking glass and watched in horror as a body fell into her vision. She almost fainted but the urge to preserve her friend's life overtook her nausea. She ran for all she was worth.

Her breath caught in her throat when she realized the uniform the unconscious student wore was not a female's but a male's. "Reizan-kun!" she gasped as she stopped in front of his still body. Her eyes took in the flecks of blood on the ground and the glass pieces still imbedded in his flesh. Raising her head, she spotted Tomoyo raised high in the air by something that could not exist.

A larger than life sapphire blue falcon flew in the air, its immense talons gripping onto the back and collar of Tomoyo's shirt almost ripping it to shreds. Sakura's eyes tracked it until a rumbling sound reached her ears and a large crystalline spire of ice erupted from the ground until it reached the height of the courtyard's trees. It left Tomoyo hanging unconscious from the point of the spire by the tattered shreds of the uniform's collar.

Even more surprising than anything else, the falcon, without opening its beak, greeted in an icy almost monotone voice, "Ohayo gozaimasu."

Behind her, Sakura heard Syaoran's sudden cry of surprise, "What… are you?"

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**Japanese Translations**

Gaki – Brat; Derogatory term for a kid

Arigatou – Thank you

Gomen – Sorry

Gomenasai – A politer way to say "Sorry"

Obento – It should be in the English dictionary but… "A Japanese meal that is packaged in a partitioned lacquer box"

Ohayo Gozaimasu – Good morning

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**Ending Note: ** If there are any spelling/grammatical errors I am sorry. This chapter marks the end of revision and a storyline different, but similar, to my original one. Thank you for dealing with my stubbornness, procrastination, and overall snail speed and also… thanks for understanding!


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